LONG BEACH, NY — It’s been three weeks since Nassau County health officials declared Long Beach water safe to drink and a boil-water notice was lifted following the detection of E. coli in the water supply.

Since then: Pungent stench. Burning eyes. Itchy skin. Dry throats. Stomach problems. A numb tongue.

Neighbors fear that the silver bullet health officials used to kill the harmful bacteria and keep people safe is now plaguing them.

Several residents who spoke to Patch this week said that it’s bad enough they turn on the tap to find a brown, discolored liquid. Now, they’re often greeted by an overpowering chemical smell.

“The smell of chlorine at times in the house is so strong, you feel like you’re in a public pool,” said Annmarie Klosky, a dog-walker who has lived in the city for more than two decades.

Klosky, like many others, first noticed the smell last week, and most recently, on Wednesday. Like many others, she sticks to bottled water, but notices the stench when she showers or fills her saltwater pool with a garden hose.

And the stench is the least of her worries.

“The tip of my tongue has been numb for a couple days,” Klosky said. “My entire tongue is tingling like I’ve had mouthwash for days.”

She has also experienced constant skin irritation after taking a dip in her pool.

Mary Ellen Lorrain, a spokeswoman for the Nassau County Health Department, told Patch the boil-water notice wouldn’t have been lifted if the water wasn’t safe. When asked about possible side effects of chlorine in drinking water, she referred comment to the city.

Charles Bernowich, of the Long Beach water department, said health officials instructed the water purification department to put in chlorine at 2 parts per million following the E. coli detection.

“It’s at a safe level,” he said, but declined to comment on the residents’ complaints.

The city’s public works department is handling the situation, he said, along with the Nassau County health department and the state.

Erin Silk, of the state Health Department, confirmed the state has a role in E. coli testing, but was not involved with the chlorine treatment. The department said in a statement that most public water systems are required to add chlorine to the water because it kills many disease-causing organisms. She added that the chlorine levels reported by the Long Beach water department are not uncommon and were well below the maximum residual disinfectant level.

“The public should have confidence that treatment at these levels is not expected to cause health effects,” Silk said.

John Mirando, the city’s public works department commissioner, told Patch on Friday that his department has received very few complaints about the chlorine.

“We’ve gotten a few,” he said. “Some people are a little more sensitive than other people. Mostly about the taste.”

Mirando suggests that residents who drink tap water first pour the liquid into a container and then place it into the refrigerator with the cap loosened.

“The chlorine dissipates rather rapidly,” he said. “And you should not have a taste issue with the chlorine.”

Mirando, whose been in the water supply industry for four decades, confirmed the city puts out residual chlorine at about 2 parts per million, but noted that when it actually gets out into the system, it’s only at about 1.5 parts per million. Those levels, he said, ought to be low enough that people don’t experience side effects unless they’re particularly sensitive — or expecting to find them.

“A lot of it is subjective,” he said. “A lot of it’s what you’re expecting to find. For different people, it’s a different sensitivity level.”

The city has conducted three rounds of sampling and each has tested negative for coliforms, he said. E. coli is a coliform bacteria that is the best indicator of fecal pollution and the possible presence of pathogens. The city expects to continue the chlorine treatment likely into next week, he said. The next round of samples will be taken Tuesday. Once the all-clear is given, health officials will allow the city to reduce chlorine levels to 1 part per million.

The federal Environmental Protection Agency limits chlorine levels in drinking water to 4 parts per million.

“Some people who use water containing chlorine well in excess of the maximum residual disinfectant level could experience irritating effects to their eyes and nose,” the EPA said. “Some people who drink water containing chlorine well in excess of the maximum residual disinfectant level could experience stomach discomfort.”

So, in theory, Long Beach shouldn’t have a problem.

In reality: A growing chorus of Long Beach neighbors are reporting similar symptoms — and more. They’re demanding answers from city and county officials about the health of their water, and many have taken to a private Facebook group to share their experiences.

Among them is neighbor Christina Tisi-Kramer, a photographer for Long Beach Public Schools. She told Patch she first noticed the smell about two weeks ago. Since then, her skin has become dry and, in her words, “bleachy.”

“My eyes are burning,” she said. “I dye my hair, the dye is out of my hair within two days. It just stripped it right out.”

She bought a chlorine filter for her shower, but said her eyes still burn when she hand-washes her dishes.

Tisi-Kramer, whose husband, Tim Kramer, recently ran unsuccessfully for city council, is considering leaving Long Beach over the water quality, which she feels has been a longstanding problem that is being willfully ignored by the city.

“We just want healthy water for our children and grandchildren to drink so we can stay,” said Tisi-Kramer, who has lived in the area since 1999. “If they don’t make changes within two years, we’re going to have move.”

Fellow resident Jason, who wished to conceal his last name out of fear of retribution, has lived in the city for two years. He stopped drinking the water last year after noticing it was sometimes discolored — and dirty. Once the boil-water notice was lifted last month, he ran his tap for about 10 minutes. Immediately, he noticed the smell.

“It had this strong stench to it,” he said. “And one or two times I smelled it in the shower, like, ‘That’s chlorine! That’s what I’m smelling!'”

Jason smells chlorine when flushes the toilet. He now refuses to shower at home.

“I drive to my parents house to shower,” he said. “I joined a gym in Woodbury for a week to shower.”

Resident Dayna Rizzo began noticing the scent last week when her tea, which she makes using boiled and bottled water, “reeked and tasted of chlorine like a swimming pool.” She believes that’s because she washes her dishes in the sink with hot tap water.

“I have let the kettle sit with bottled water in it, boiled it, flushed it out etc. Still chlorine smell,” she wrote in a Facebook message.

Her sponge and bathroom both smell like a pool, she added.

Lower chlorine levels in water can lead to a stronger scent, said Bernowich, of the water department.

“Sometimes people are more sensitive to it actually at a lower level than a higher level,” he said.

He noted that in the aftermath of the devastating Hurricane Sandy, the chlorine levels were raised even higher than the current levels.

“These are the things they do to protect the public,” he said.

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