AUBURN – The Water District trustees were told Wednesday that installation of the chloramination project inside the district’s garage should go smoothly and that the equipment should be operational by winter.

Superintendent Norm Lamie said Wright-Pierce, an engineering firm hired for the project, expects the system to be easily housed inside the garage at the Auburn Water and Sewerage District on Court Street. Another option would have been to place the chloramine feed system inside a trailer. “They see it as a very straightforward project,” Lamie told the board.

The chloramine feed system would be a short-term solution for the next three to five years. Similar systems are in use in Massachusetts and New York, and in several cities in Europe. The cost in Auburn is expected to be between $150,000 and $175,000.

Lamie said the long-term solution that would satisfy federal and state environmental regulations would be a dual system, possibly using ultra violet light and ozone. He told the board that it is likely that Auburn and Lewiston would jointly build a facility at Lake Auburn between three and five years from now.

A recent water quality study indicated that chloramination might reduce acidic compounds that caused the district to be out of compliance with federal drinking water standards. Chloramination uses a combination of chlorine and ammonia to reduce haloacetic acids.

About 6,000 Water District customers have received two letters in recent months informing them of a continued violation of a federal water quality standard and the district’s short- and long-term solutions. Lamie said it is possible that a third letter could be necessary after the next quarterly water testing. Increased levels of haloacetic acids in drinking water were discovered in November. The Maine Department of Environmental Protection requires quarterly letters of notification to customers.

Haloacetic acidic compounds are created when chlorine added to water to disinfect it combines with natural organic matter. The federal Environmental Protection Agency has established a maximum contaminant level of 60 parts per billion for haloacetic acids.

It is based on the estimated lifetime cancer risk of one in 10,000, assuming an adult’s tap water consumption is eight and one-half cups per day for a 154-pound adult. The amount found in November was 65 parts per billion in a sample taken from within the water distribution system. The most recent testing indicated a level of 66 parts per billion.