Boil-water advisory lifted for thousands in several Allegheny County communities

McKEESPORT, Pa. — UPDATE (10/16/19): A precautionary boil water advisory has been lifted in McKeesport, Versailles, White Oak and Port Vue, the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County said Wednesday.

Water samples taken over two days came back clear and residents can again use water as normal, according to the MAWC.

Officials also said storage tank levels are at normal conditions, so it is not longer necessary to conserve water.

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ORIGINAL STORY: Residents of several communities in Allegheny County are being asked to conserve and, in some cases, boil their water due to a mechanical issue at the McKeesport water plant.

The water treatment plant is back in production and purging air from the distribution system, according to officials, but the boil-water advisories are still in effect.

Below are the communities impacted:

• McKeesport and Versailles borough were placed on a boil-water advisory Saturday night.
• Port Vue was added to the boil-water advisory because water tower levels started dropping.
• White Oak Borough is under the boil-water advisory and is also under a mandatory conserve order.

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The issue was reported around 9 p.m. Saturday, according to the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County.

A mechanical issue developed with the intake pump at the McKeesport plant Saturday night, resulting in low or no water pressure, according to MAWC.

Workers started making repairs early Sunday morning.

VIDEO: What does a boil water advisory mean?

Recorded messages went out to customers impacted by the advisory, but many residents were still left with questions.

“If you can't drink it, should you take a bath? What's in it? Am I going to catch something? I don't know. They don't tell you a lot,” Dean Marsh, of Port Vue, said.

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The boil-water advisory cannot be lifted until there are two consecutive water samples that show no bacterial contamination. The first samples are being taken Monday, officials said.

Water is being made available at the following locations to residents affected by the boil-water advisory:

• White Oak at 2280 Lincoln Way and 1612 Lincoln Way
• Water buffaloes are available at 238 Atlantic Avenue, the intersections of Walnut and Juniper, Walnut and 12th and at McKeesport Hospital.
• Additional water locations in Port Vue are at 304 Gumbert Street and 1515 Washington Boulevard.

More than 16,000 customers are affected in total, MAWC officials said.

Serra Catholic High School is closed Monday due to the advisory.

“Due to the present safety of the drinking water in McKeesport and the uncertainty of adequate water pressure being available to our building tomorrow (Monday, October 14), Serra will not be in session during the school day,” the school announced in a Facebook post. “The school should be able to resume classes on Tuesday but students will need to be prepared to bring their own drinking water.”

Cox Media Group