Chloramine Removal

Chloramine Removal from Water in Fort Bend County

What Is Chloramine, and Why Is It in My Water?

Chloramine is a disinfectant made by combining chlorine with a small amount of ammonia. Public water systems use it to keep germs out of the water on its way through miles of pipe. It lasts longer in the pipes than free chlorine and forms fewer of some disinfection byproducts, which is why the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency lists it as an accepted disinfectant and many large utilities use it. The EPA's limit for chloramine in drinking water is 4 milligrams per liter.

For you at home, the difference shows up in the shower, the glass and the filter. Chloramine has a chlorine-like smell and taste, and it is much harder for ordinary carbon filters to remove than free chlorine.

Why More Fort Bend Systems Are Switching to Chloramine

Fort Bend County is moving from well water to treated surface water to slow land subsidence, and surface water is usually disinfected with chloramine. The North Fort Bend Water Authority states that all of its surface water and some of its groundwater is treated with chloramine. Cinco MUD 5 posted that it would convert on or after June 30, 2026, and Fort Bend County MUD 162 announced a similar change.

Of the county's water systems whose 2025 water quality reports we have read, dozens already name chloramine as their disinfectant. You can check yours on our chloramine by water system page.

What Chloramine Means at Home

• Taste and smell. Many people notice a "pool" smell in the shower or a flat chemical taste in tap water and coffee.
• Your existing filter may not be enough. Pitcher filters, fridge filters and whole-home systems built for chlorine use standard carbon, which reduces chloramine slowly and runs out quickly.
• Fish and dialysis. Chloramine is toxic to aquarium fish and must be removed from water used for home kidney dialysis. Utilities notify customers before converting for this reason. Use a water conditioner that is labeled for chloramine in fish tanks, and follow your dialysis provider's instructions.

To find out whether your system uses chloramine, call 281-979-3405 or send us your ZIP code.

Filters That Actually Reduce Chloramine

Reducing chloramine takes catalytic carbon, an activated carbon treated so its surface breaks the chlorine–ammonia bond, and enough contact time for the water to react with it. In a whole-home system that means the right media in a tank sized for your peak flow, not a small cartridge.

When you compare equipment, look for third-party certification to NSF/ANSI Standard 42 that specifically lists chloramine reduction. Chlorine-reduction certification alone doesn't tell you how a filter performs on chloramine.

We size whole-home filtration for chloraminated water from your household's water use and the chloramine level your system reports, and we write the media replacement interval into your quote.

Does Reverse Osmosis Remove Chloramine?

Not on its own. The RO membrane is not a reliable barrier to chloramine, and chlorine compounds can damage common membranes. A good under-sink reverse osmosis system relies on carbon pre-filters to reduce chloramine before the membrane, so on chloraminated water those pre-filters need to be suited to chloramine and changed on schedule. RO treats one tap; for showers and the rest of the house you need a whole-home filter.

How Do I Know If My Water Has Chloramine?

Your water system's annual water quality report lists the disinfectant in its table, usually in a row named "Chloramines" or "Chloramine (ppm)", with an average and a range. You can find your system's report on its website or on our chloramine by water system page, which lists the systems whose reports we have read. Pool and spa test strips can measure total chlorine, which includes chloramine, but not tell the two apart reliably.