Boil water advisory for several Pittsburgh neighborhoods after water main break

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority has issued a precautionary flush and boil water advisory for several sections of Pittsburgh.

Following a large water main break on Centre Avenue in East Liberty Sunday morning, the PWSA restored pressure following a period of low and no water pressure for customers in the central and eastern sections of Pittsburgh.

According to the PWSA, the advisory has been issued because the decrease in water pressure has the potential to allow “contaminants to enter the drinking water.”

The advisory applies to water used for consumption until further notice.

The PWSA is conducting testing to verify that water is safe to consume, but for now, the advisory affects about 7,000 homes.

“Though our regulations require the precautionary flush and boil water advisory, disinfectant levels in our system have remained stable, and we have not detected the presence of any contaminants,” the PWSA said in a statement. “Regulations require multiple follow-up water quality testing before the advisory can be lifted. The earliest the test results will be available is the evening of December 19, 2017.”

The impacted areas include the following sections of the city:

• Bloomfield
• Central Lawrenceville
• East Liberty
• Friendship
• Garfield
• Highland Park
• Morningside
• Shadyside

UPMC Shadyside is also impacted by the advisory. It released the following statement:

“UPMC is following the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority (PWSA) boiled water notice, which affects UPMC Shadyside and Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC. As part of our contingency plan for this type of emergency, water supplies, including bottled water, are being distributed to patients and staff. Both hospitals remains operational and there is no impact on patient care.”

Water buffaloes have been set up at several locations. People are advised to bring their own containers to collect water.

For flush and boil water advisory customers who may be unable to boil water: 

• Shursave IGA Super Market at 4401 Liberty Ave, Pittsburgh, Pa 15224
• CVS at 4610 Centre Avenue at North Craig Street, Pittsburgh, Pa 15213
• Fire Station 8 at 149 North Euclid Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pa 15206

For customers impacted by the 20-inch main break with no water service:

• Centre Avenue at South Negley Avenue
• Centre Avenue at South Euclid Avenue

A busy Pittsburgh street looked more like a river Sunday morning as water rushed down Centre Avenue following a water main break.

The break impacted water service and pressure at UPMC Shadyside and Mercy hospitals, in addition to surrounding neighborhoods. The water main break also forced businesses to close as residents flooded grocery stores looking for bottles of water.

“I went to wash my hands and there was nothing. Nothing. No sputtering, nothing,” said JoAnn Giglio.

She and other residents of Essex House walked to the store to buy gallons of water to get them through the day.

“I turned on the faucet and no water,” said Stan Spear, laughing. “I’m thinking, ‘We are out of water again.’”

Cox Media Group