Water Contamination in Pennsylvania

Taken from http://www.philly.com

Utility issues warning on its water

Pennsylvania American Water yesterday advised customers in two communities near Norristown to boil their water before drinking, making it the third time in less than three weeks the company issued such a warning. "It is different this time," said Susan Turcmanovich, spokeswoman for the privately held utility. "At about 5 p.m. last night there was a power glitch at the Norristown booster station."

The booster station is a distribution plant where water is pumped into the mains that serve homes and businesses. About 5,400 customers in Whitpain and East Norriton Townships experienced either a loss of service or low water pressure.

Only those customers who completely lost service need to boil their water, not those who simply have low pressure, Turcmanovich said.

Customers were asked to bring water used for drinking, cooking and brushing teeth to a full boil for a minimum of one minute, then cool before use.

The precautionary advisory was issued because the lack of water pressure in the system makes it possible for bacteria or other harmful organisms to enter the water supply. "It's a backflow issue. It can draw anything into the system," said Turcmanovich.

The company is waiting on the results of a water quality test to determine if the water is contaminated. It needs to pass two clean samples within 24 hours in order to lift the advisory, which will remain in effect until at least today, according to Turcmanovich.

The first advisory last month was put out after there was a malfunction at the booster station. Last week's issue was caused by a Peco power line, and was resolved by replacing the line. But this week, the lost power was a result of Pennsylvania American Water's equipment, not Peco's, said Ted Caddell, spokesman for Peco. "There was no interruption on our side," he said. The reason why power was lost is still being investigated, according to Turcmanovich.

The company hired personnel to monitor the booster station 24 hours a day so back-up systems can be turned on if another pumping failure occurs, she said.