Water Not Contaminated By Chemical Spill, Bucks Co. Officials Say

Editor's note: This story was updated Tuesday afternoon with the latest information.

BUCKS COUNTY, PA — A chemical spill in Bristol Township has not contaminated the drinking water for Bucks County residents, officials said again Tuesday.

Multiple water samples collected by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, state Department of Environmental Protection, water providers, and U.S. Coast Guard after a chemical spill in Bristol Township have shown no water contamination from Friday's latex spill into the Delaware River, county officials said. Samples were gathered at several locations near drinking water intakes along the river.

“There continues to be no known adverse impacts to drinking water in Bucks County,” officials said in a Tuesday statement. Testing will continue.

Click here for the latest update from the county.

Water suppliers in the area reported Monday that contaminants from this weekend’s spill were not detected near the intakes for their plants along the Delaware River, nor in the drinking water supply, officials said.

This included Pennsylvania American Water's Yardley treatment plant, which serves Lower Makefield Township, Yardley Borough, and parts of Falls Township; as well as the Lower Bucks County Joint Municipal Authority.

North Wales Water Authority Water Supply explained that its water intake point at Point Pleasant is more than 35 miles upstream from the recent contamination location, "making it impossible for the contamination from the Bristol area in Lower Bucks County to reach and impact our water supplies."

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Aqua said it acted immediately to shut down the intake to the Bristol water system, preventing customer exposure to hazardous materials.

The "latex emulsion product" was released from an Altuglas manufacturing facility Friday, shortly before midnight, into Otter Creek in Bristol due to an apparent equipment failure, according to its parent company, Trinseo PLC.

Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick (R-01), who represents Bucks County, said he and his team are "in constant communication" with the EPA and local officials. Fitzpatrick said officials will continue to monitor the situation and take frequent water sampling.

"The health and safety of our community is of the utmost importance, and I will continue to work with our local authorities and elected officials," he said in a statement Tuesday.

The PA Department of Environmental Protection has spearheaded the response effort, with aid from the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Residents in Bristol Borough, Bristol Township, and Bensalem Township who may have questions should contact their water provider.

Patch's Michelle Rotuno-Johnson contributed to this story.