If you thought the water in Benton Harbor tasted a lot like drinking out of a swimming pool last fall, we now know why.

The City of Benton Harbor is notifying residents about a recent “chemical overfeed” in the public drinking water supply. City Manager Alex Little tells us in September and October of 2024, workers at the Water Treatment Plant added too much chlorine disinfectant for a period of three weeks.

“We had previously purchased the chlorine in an amount that lasted longer than what we should have kept it in. Basically, by doing so, it took more of it to accomplish the percentage that’s required to be met in order to bring the level to where it should be.”

The statement from the city says they bought the chemical disinfectant in bulk, not realizing the strength goes down over time. Because the chlorine was weaker, workers fed more of it into the water supply to maintain required chlorinated levels. The chemical amount added was a violation of the Michigan Safe Drinking Water Act — triggering the requirement for public notification. Little says the issue has been resolved, and should not happen again.

“We’re purchasing smaller amounts so that we use it within a certain time period and then we order again and that way we don’t have it sitting long enough for it to, for the compound to weaken.”

The notice from the city says there’s nothing residents need to do and it’s not an emergency because exposure to the chemical was not an acute health risk.