Chlorinated acids and chloral in drinking water

A quantitative study of chloroform, chloral hydrate, dichloroacetic acid, and trichloroacetic acid in drinking water showed that all four compounds resulted from municipal chlorination. The concentrations of these organics depended on the amount of natural organics in the untreated water. If residual chlorine was present after chlorination, the concentrations depended on the contact time between organics and residual chlorine. Qualitative studies showed that all of the chlorinated compounds found in finished waters were also formed in the chlorination of soil fulvic acids.