Ozone Water Treatment Disadvantages

Ozone was first used to treat water as early as 1893. By the 1980s, over 1,100 ozone water treatment facilities were located across Europe. Using ozone in water is special because when it comes up against bacteria and viruses, ozone does a better job at disinfecting water than chlorine. Ozone also eliminates bad tastes and smells in your drinking water, and adding ozone to a water system doesn't introduce any new chemicals.

It would seem that ozone is far superior to chlorine and other water treatment options. But this isn't always the case. Ozone water treatment has several disadvantages.

Complex Mixing

• Ozone isn't as soluble in water as chlorine. A water treatment plant must use complex mixing techniques to successfully disinfect water with ozone, which makes ozone treatment much more complicated than chlorine treatments.

Equipment and Operational Costs

• In an industrial setting, ozone equipment and maintenance can cost significantly more than other types of water treatment systems. In addition, ozone water treatment requires electricity. No power means no ozone treatment.

Dangerous By-Products

• While ozonation does remove a variety of bacteria and viruses, it can also produce a by-product known as bromate. Bromate is a carcinogen that can seriously harm human health.

Not Always Effective

• In low doses, ozone may not be strong enough to kill all cysts and spores within water. Plus, it doesn't prevent the re-growth of germs within water like chlorine, so there may be a lurking contamination problem.