Vicksburg residents who have noticed a chlorine smell coming form their water faucets and showers should not be alarmed, said Vicksburg Water Treatment Plant Superintendent Pat McGuffie, and the smell should dissipate by this afternoon.

“There is absolutely nothing wrong with the water,” McGuffie said this morning. “We are not out of compliance. The water is safe to drink and shower with, and people don’t need to panic.”

McGuffie said plant workers became aware of the plant’s chlorinator — which steadily feeds chlorine into the water — fluctuating in its output early Sunday morning and had the problem corrected by the afternoon.

“We just had to recalibrate it and readjust it,” McGuffie said. “We’re flushing the system now, and any chlorine smell should be gone by noon or late afternoon.”

The Water Treatment Plant was built in 1969 on the harbor at 601 Haining Road, and produces an estimated 9.5 million gallons of water per day. The water drawn from its 18 wells throughout the city and county is transferred to the treatment plant for purification. It then goes into the pipe network, which includes a series of elevated tanks to provide pressurized service.