Aqua Addresses Drinking Water Safety After Abington Fire

ABINGTON TOWNSHIP, PA —Aqua is addressing concerns raised by residents over the safety of their drinking water in the wake of the SPS Technologies fire last week.

Aqua Pennsylvania issued a statement Monday about the drinking water in the area after the massive fire at the Highland Avenue building in Jenkintown last Monday night.

Aqua said it is collecting and testing water samples in the area on an ongoing basis. Some residents have reported seeing cloudy water.

Residents in Abington, Cheltenham, and Jenkintown “can be assured their water is safe to drink,” the statement said. “Continued tests have shown our drinking water quality meets all standards.”

Aqua said that the waterways impacted by the firefighting efforts are not used by Aqua to provide drinking water to residents in Abington and Cheltenham townships and Jenkintown Borough.

Aqua said the water comes from a source several miles away from the fire scene. No firefighting runoff entered the drinking water, Aqua said.

While some customers may have noticed their water appears slightly cloudy, the pipes in the streets that deliver drinking water to homes are the same pipes that service the fire hydrants used to battle the SPS fire, Aqua said.

"The prolonged, intense movement of water in the pipes can lead to cloudiness in the drinking water, usually from entrained air," Aqua said in its statement. "Again, please know, your water is safe to drink."

Aqua also addressed the taste of the water, which some said is salty.

Aqua said the salty taste is not related to the fire but to the runoff of road salts used on roadways, parking lots, and other treated surfaces in response to recent winter storms and icing conditions.

Road salts are typically made up of a combination of sodium, chloride, and calcium, all of which are naturally occurring and can be found in drinking water on any given day.

The Environmental Protection Agency and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection have secondary standards for chloride, however, secondary standards are not considered to have any public health risks.

The issue is further exacerbated by low stream flow from the persistent drought which has the effect of limiting dilution of the chloride concentrations, Aqua said.

Aqua can be reached at 877.987.2782 with questions and concerns.