Citizen input on proposed chlorination of the drinking water supply in the City of Three Rivers will be sought through a public hearing that will be a part of the next Three Rivers City Commission meeting on February 3rd.

That was the end point of attention given to the subject during the commission meeting Tuesday evening (January 20th).

Commissioners reviewed a  report provided by City Manager Joe Bippus and Jim Rozeboom, Director of the Department of Public Services, and heard comments from several people who addressed the issue.  The commission requested information on the subject during the group’s January 6th meeting after a nearly week-long “boil water notice” that resulted from a loss of water pressure in the city’s water supply system in late December.

Steve Todd, Director of the Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency, explained that residual chlorination has been one of the major contributors to the decrease of water borne illnesses and said, “From the standpoint of the health department, I recommend that you investigate getting Three Rivers an added benefit of having a chlorinated supply.”  Todd said the City of Three Rivers, the Lockport-Park townships water system, and the Village of White Pigeon are the only community water supplies in St. Joseph County that are not chlorinated.

Steve Todd, Director of the Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency, said, "From a public health standpoint, the benefits of a chlorindated (water) supply are there."

Matt Chambers, President and CEO of Three Rivers Health, reiterated the appeal he made two weeks ago for chlorination and said, “We’re only a hundred years behind the times.”  Chambers explained that chlorinating of water began with the City of Chicago in 1908 and has yielded “significant benefits worldwide.”

Tom Lowry echoed the comments by Todd and Chambers and said, “If you’re not sure you want to do it, then put it to a vote of the people and then let’s educate the people as much as possible.”  And he said, “Let’s keep it going forward.”

Two citizens – Helen Dettmar and Annie Signorello – voiced opposition to chlorination.  Dettmar cited concerns she has about the effects of chlorination and chlorine byproducts on the human body after researching the subject.  Signorello said, “I think the issue at hand is the problem that you had with the water pressure going down” and suggested addressing that matter, rather than adding more chemicals to the water.

Chambers addressed the concerns about the effects of chlorine and chlorine byproducts by citing a recent report resulting from combined efforts by Canada and the United States.  According to Chambers, the report says that “the health risks from these byproducts, at the level they appear in drinking water, are extremely small in comparison with the risks associated with inadequate disinfection.”

By consensus, commissioners agreed to gather additional information and to schedule a public hearing during their February 3rd meeting to get citizen input.

Mayor Allen Balog said, “There’s no such thing as having too much information on this issue.  We need all the information we can get.”  And he added, “I’m leaning towards chlorination, but I would like for the citizens to tell us what they want.”