Emmaus Water Boil Advisory Lifted

After two consecutive days of testing the water for disease-causing organisms, Emmaus Borough has lifted the Water Boil Advisory issued Wednesday.

On Feb. 23, a water main broke at 1104 W. Jubilee St., and that triggered a mandatory Water Boil Advisory, according to Environmental Protection Agency regulations.

Public Works Director Jeff Clapper said the Borough was just following the standard procedure. The regulation is new within the last year he said, and previous to that, he hadn’t ever experienced problems with water after a repair was made.

“We take great care in disinfecting all the components to make the repair,” he said.

Water mains break, Clapper said, usually from climate changes.

“We’ve had a very cold winter with a lot more freezing temperatures,” he said. “Extreme changes in temperature creates ground movement, and when pipes shift, they can crack.”

The last water main to break in the Borough happened beneath the 700 block of Chestnut Street about 2 a.m. Nov. 29, 2010. The Water Boil Advisory was issued to 95 property owners in the area bordered by 7^th, 9^th, Green and Bank streets.

That advisory was lifted Dec. 2.

This latest advisory affected about 98 homes between South 11th Street to South 13th Street and from Pennsylvania Avenue to Jubilee Street. The Borough office called each home to inform them of the advisory, and again today to notify them the advisory was lifted.

Public Works cut out the section of pipe that cracked at 1104 Jubilee and replaced it by Wednesday afternoon.

That same day, the Borough sent a water sample to a bacteriology lab to test for any disease-causing organisms such as coliform bacteria. The regulation requires two consecutive days of testing.

Wednesday’s sample came back negative on Thursday, and Thursday’s sample came in today, also clean.