GVSD Area Was Under Water Boil Alert But Aqua PA Rescinded Alert

This story was updated as soon as Patch learned Aqua PA had sent out a new notice Friday evening.

MALVERN, PA — Aqua PA on Friday afternoon issued a water boil alert for East Whiteland and Charlestown townships on Friday, after East Whiteland Township declared a state of disaster emergency.

Then, after 5 p.m. on Friday, Aqua PA posted this notice:

"Boil water advisory sent out in error to Aqua PA customers in Malvern, Willistown, East Goshen, Schuylkill, Tredyffrin, East Whiteland, Charlestown and Easttown
Aqua PA customers in Malvern, Willistown, East Goshen, Schuylkill, Tredyffrin, East Whiteland, Charlestown and Easttown: A boil water advisory was sent out in error to these areas. Please disregard this message. We apologize for this inconvenience. Thank you!"

Here is the story published prior to the above notice:

Aqua customers in the townships are advised to use boiled or bottled water for drinking, making ice, brushing teeth, washing dishes, and food preparation until further notice, according to the company's notice.

"To boil your water, bring it to a rolling boil, let it boil for one minute, and let it cool before using," Aqua PA's advisory said.

The boil alert comes after flooding from Hurricane Ida's remnants passed through Chester County, dumping heavy rains on Wednesday and into Thursday. As creeks and rivers flooded, Aqua was forced to shut down the Pickering Creek East and West water treatment plants yesterday, and customers have been reported discolored water. Read a related story here.

Great Valley School District has posted a notification that the District received notice from Aqua PA that East Whiteland and Charlestown Townships are currently under a boil alert for water consumption.

"Our schools are aware and are taking the necessary precautions," the notice on GVSD's website said.

It said school buildings in the affected areas are the District Office on Church Road, K.D. Markley at 354 Swedesford Road, and Charlestown Elementary, 2060 Charlestown Road, Great Valley Middle School, 255 N. Phoenixville Pike, and Great Valley High School, 225 N. Phoenixville Pike, all in Malvern. GVSD said, "All water fountains and water fillers are now closed. Bottled water is available," the District's notice said.

Aqua Pennsylvania's notification to customers read: "A boil water advisory is in place for Charlestown and East Whiteland Townships. Due to the recent storms, Aqua had to shut down our Pickering East and West water treatment plants. As a result, water system pressure dropped below the minimum regulatory level in your localized area, which is a signal of the existence of conditions that could allow contamination into the water."

"Aqua is in the process of bringing the plant back into full operation," Aqua's notice said, and added, "Thank you for your understanding."

Aqua PA published a notice on Friday afternoon telling customers how to contact them."Our customer care center is experiencing technical issues as a result of our phone vendor being impacted by the historic flooding in the Northeast. At this time, we are focusing on providing emergency services. You can contact us to report an emergency from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. by:

• Emailing us at custservreply@aquaamerica.com.
• Visiting our website and submitting a Contact Aqua request under the Customer Service Center dropdown.
• Calling our contact center at 877-987-2782.
• Sending us a social media post.
• After 5 p.m., contact us at 877-987-2782 to report an emergency."

Aqua PA sent out three notices on Thursday informing customers of the two plants of a shutdown and asking them to "please suspend all non-essential water use until we notify you that we've restored adequate water supply."

For more information on Aqua Pennsylvania, go here.

'Might Be At Increased Risk From Microbial Contamination'

According to the notice, Aqua's water system pressure dropped below the minimum regulatory level in the area because of the plant shutdowns. "A loss of positive water pressure is a signal of the existence of conditions that could allow contamination to enter the distribution system through backflow by back pressure or back-siphonage."

As a result, there is an increased chance that the water might contain disease-causing organisms, Aqua's notice said.

The notice put in all bold capitals letters, "DO NOT DRINK THE WATER WITHOUT BOILING IT FIRST."

"Inadequately treated water may contain disease-causing organisms. These organisms include bacteria, viruses, and parasites, which can cause symptoms such as nausea, cramps, diarrhea, and associated headaches. These symptoms, however, are not caused only by organisms in drinking water, but also by other factors. If you experience any of these symptoms and they persist, you may want to seek medical advice," the notice said.

Guardians of infants and young children and people at increased risk, such as pregnant women, some of the elderly, and people with severely compromised immune systems, should seek advice from their health care advisors about drinking this water.

General guidelines on ways to lessen the risk of infection by microbes are available from EPA’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1.800.426.4791.

East Whiteland Township Declares Emergency

East Whiteland Township on Thursday filed a Declaration of Disaster Emergency, stating remnants of Hurricane Ida have endangered the health, safety, and welfare of a substantial number of persons residing in the Township. The declaration said the situation "threatens to create problems greater in scope than East Whiteland Township may be able to resolve and, therefore, is a local disaster emergency."

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