Tap Water Suddenly Contains A Lot Of Ammonia?

[Rynofasho]

So I was testing the tank today, and the resulting ammonia test looked pretty darn yellow but for sh*ts and giggles I decided to test my tap water against it because previously it had tested yellow, so I wanted to compare.

Much to my dismay, the tap water tube is now green as can be! Close to 2ppm out of the tap. I tested this with two different test tubes, with two different ammonia kits (had a single API ammonia kit before I bought the master), etc. and every test yields the same result which as far too much ammonia.

Do water treatment facilities do anything periodically that would add ammonia to my tap water? I'm hesitant to even do a water change now, considering ill be loading the tank up on ammonia in doing so. What would cause this sudden spike?

And I will say this, that no, there have not been very heavy rains or anything lately here (St. Louis, MO) that would have contributed to a lot of fertilizer run off, so I'm really at a loss.

 

[Katty]

They don't add ammonia but they might be adding chloramine (kinda a chlorine ammonia combo) to take care of some contamination. You could call the water facility and ask them, they'd have a real answer rather than a guess.

 

[Rynofasho]

In my water report that is available on line, they advised that they measured 2.5ppm of chloramine in both of the rivers we get our water from --- the only thing is, previously my tapwater measured 0ppm, so it seems like a pretty radical jump from 0ppm ammonia to 2.0ppm. I know Prime will still neutralize it until my bio filter can knock it out, but I was really surprised to see this.

 

[BIG BAD BARRY]

Do you live in the sticks or the city?
What route does the water take from the river ie how many treatment plants etc because it could get treated at any one of them i guess.

 

[Rynofasho]

I live in the suburbs. I live RIGHT next to one of the rivers that is our water source, and a water treatment plant which I would have to assume supplies me is within 2 miles.

Maybe they just dosed the chloramine much heavier in recent days for whatever reason. . .

Either way, I guess I'll just double dose Prime on my next water change and let my filter sort it out.

 

[BIG BAD BARRY]

Sounds very nice where you are.

Or maybe somebody at the plant got fired!