Boil water advisory lifted for Chester, Lancaster Counties

Update: As of 8:30 a.m. on Monday, the water advisory has been lifted.

Pennsylvania American Water on Saturday advised 14,500 customers in Chester and Lancaster Counties to boil water after its Rock Run Water Treatment Plant near Coatesville “experienced an issue which resulted in lower-than-normal chlorine residuals within the plant.”

The notice applies to customers in Pennsylvania American’s Coatesville system, which includes the City of Coatesville, Parkesburg, and South Coatesville and portions of Atglen, Caln, East Fallowfield, Highland, Sadsbury, Valley, West Caln and West Sadsbury Townships, Chester County. Residents in the Borough of Quarryville and Bart, Colerain, Eden and Sadsbury Townships, in Lancaster County, were also impacted.

Kara Rahn, a company spokeswoman, said the treatment plant was responding well now and the company hoped to lift the boil water advisory Monday morning if tests were favorable.

Until the advisory is lifted, the company recommends that customers not drink water from their taps without first boiling it for a minute and allowing it to cool down. Only boiled or bottled water should be used for drinking, making ice, washing dishes, brushing teeth, and preparing food.

Customers do not need to boil water used for bathing or for laundry, as long as they do not drink it. Customers with home water-filtration systems should also boil their drinking water if they have any doubts that the systems are able to remove harmful bacteria.

» READ MORE: Ida nearly caused a drinking-water catastrophe

Water companies add chlorine during the treatment process to kill disease-causing organisms. But on Saturday, the chlorine readings were lower than normal, which under state regulation requires the company to issue a boil water advisory within four hours.

The cause of the problem was unclear. The Rock Run Water Treatment Plant, on Water Works Road next to Coatesville Reservoir, is “currently undergoing system upgrades to improve operational efficiencies and add enhanced testing features,” Rahn said. After the water advisory is lifted, “it is our practice to take a deeper dive into the cause of the lower readings,” she said.

» READ MORE: A boil-water advisory in Bucks was linked to a mechanical problem

The problem was not related to water conditions caused by Saturday’s storm, she said.

For more information, go to www.pennsylvaniaamwater.com, and select Alerts, or contact Pennsylvania American Water’s customer service center at 800-565-7292.

This article was updated to include additional information from Pennsylvania American Water.