The Wilkinsburg-Penn Joint Water Authority recently sent letters to its customers about a high level of a chemical found in one of its water basins in May. Now, customers want answers from the water company about the delay and the chemical.
“I’m trying to go online and look up what this is. I had no idea. I’m not a scientist. I feel like it’s their job to explain this to us,” said Meghan Tutolo, a Wilkinsburg- Penn Joint Water Authority customer.
Tutolo received a letter from Wilkinsburg-Penn Joint Water Authority saying they found a high level of the chemical “trihalomethanes” in their Pitcarin water storage tank. This letter came in August, but the letter says the tests were completed in May.
“There are so many ways to get a hold of people now. I mean that same water company texts me; they email me. Why did I have to wait for months for a letter in the mail?” Tutolo said.
According to the water authorities’ website, they supply water to communities east of the city, stretching all the way to the Westmoreland County line and in between Monongahela and Allegheny river towns. The letter said there is not an immediate risk to customers.
But in a section entitled “What you should do?” it says, “If you have a severely compromised immune system, have an infant, are pregnant, or are elderly, you may be at increased risk and should seek advice from your health care providers about drinking the water.”
It goes on to say if someone drinks the chemical over many years, they could have problems with their liver, kidneys or central nervous system and may have an increased risk of developing cancer.
Tutolo said she rescues senior animals with many health issues and wants answers for them too.
“I’m sure that it’s probably not as horrible as it sounds at first glance. It exceeded the limit by not that much,” Tutolo said, “but we don’t know, and the average person doesn’t know. And if we are online trying to figure out the answer to this, it’s just creating a frenzy in the four-month time period makes it even scarier, y’know, like what have we consumed in the meantime.”
Channel 11 called and knocked on the door at the water authority to find out more about this chemical and to ask about the delay in notifying customers, but no one answered either.
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