Pennsylvania American Water said a boil water advisory has been issued for some customers in the Clairton area after a loss of power resulted in possible contamination.
The notice applies to approximately 1,500 customer connections in City of Clairton in Pennsylvania American Water’s Valley District.
“Early this morning, we experienced a loss of power to a booster pump station that caused a loss of positive water pressure to a water storage tank impacting the Clairton area,” a Sunday release from the water company said.
The loss of water pressure could have allowed contamination to the distribution system. The booster station is operating on back-up generator power until power is restored by the utility company. Pennsylvania American Water is also collecting and analyzing additional water quality samples including bacteria samples.
American Water warned its customer not to drink the water without boiling it first until further notice. People should bring all water to a rolling boil, and let it boil for one minute and cool before using or use bottled water.
“You should use boil or bottled water for drinking, making ice, washing dishes, brushing teeth and food preparation until further notice,” the release said.