I called the "city" to request a water report. They were very confused about this... "what do you mean water report... like what's in the water?" Yes dimwit... keep in mind this guys most important job is driving around the development in the summer to make sure that nobody is watering their lawn during the watering ban. There's a watering ban because the "city" (we're up to pop. 500!) failed to forsee the increased demand on the water system from adding a couple thousand houses to a town of 300 people. He told me that the state tested the water when the new treatment plant went in but they didn't monitor it. I find this hard to believe but this is what he said. Meanwhile, my 2lbs of sodium thiosulfate arrived. NOW I decide to do a little more research... and find that ST alone will not remove chloramines if present and may release ammonia. Is there someplace to get water tested for chloramine?

1) I'm sure there's probably a lab that can do it for you, but I don't know one off the top of my head, and the price might be scary.

2) You could attempt to test it yourself. As far as I know, ST does not interfere with ammonia test kits. See if you can detect ammonia one hour after treating your tapwater with ST.

3) Ask the right questions. Did you ask the "city" *specifically* about chlorine/chloramine? Can you reach someone directly in the treatment plant who would be likely to know? Can you contact the state and get the results of their test?

Your town is small enough that I don't think they are required to provide a formal water quality report but I could well be wrong there. You need to talk to the manager and not the drone who answers the phone. And ask specifically for the "water quality report", failing that ask how the water is treated.

I attempted to Google the answer but it appears the city doesn't even have a web site. So the next question is who provides the water?

Why not just assume it has chloramine in it? Even if it doesn't have it now, it may well have it in six months. Just use Amquel or Prime or another product that neutralizes the chloramine and ammonia. Those products aren't terribly expensive and they do a lot to ease the mind during water changes. Plus, as far as I know, they will not do any harm if used when you don't need to.

Because:
I'd like to make use of it if I can, because although the ST was cheap the shipping is not (damn USPS... oh sorry Rex!)

The website is:
http://www.cityofmayer.com
I looked there before I called.

Interestingly, my mother in-law and her husband are staying with us for the next two weeks, and he works for the city of Walden, CO which is a tiny town in the middle of nowhere 60mi S of Laramie, Wyoming. His job is to test the water daily as required by CO state law and add chemicals, do the water reports etc. He was shocked that my town didn't test daily. So maybe the reporting requirements are different here... I'm going to have him call the treatment plant for me. I wish I had water like they did... straight off the mountains that surround the town. It's amazing how they manipulate it so he tells me. Did you know they put soda ash in to scale up your pipes on purpose? It's supposed to protect help protect them.. anyways, thanks for the input!

If it's a new treatment plant, I would guess that they DO sterilize with choramines. It's more persistent than plain ole' chlorine, and this combined with other factors makes it the preferred treatment method. But still try to find out for sure . . . that ST would be nice to use. BUT, prime is very cost effective (in my research, the cheapest $$ per dosage).

I asked for the "Water Quality Report" the Rex mentioned and they told me it is mailed out to customers once a year. That, at least here in Dayton, is a worthless piece of paper and really doesn't tell you anything about the water quality. You may need to ask for the "Comprehensive" Water Quality Report if you city even has one. When I did this, I was referred to the Lab and not the customer service desk

Failing this, at least ask about the use of chlorine or chloramine. If the person on the phone doesn't know, ask to be transferred to someone who does!

I found out today that my town doesn't use chlorine or chloramine. I've been dechlorinating for nothing!