THIRD UPDATE:
The boil water notice that had been in place since Thursday afternoon for customers of the Municipal Authority of the Township of Robinson has been rescinded.
Stan Celich, a member of the authority board, said he had just gotten word a little after 8:30 a.m. Monday, Aug. 18, that the notice had been officially lifted.
Celich confirmed there are no use restrictions for either residential or business customers.
The boil water notice had been in place since a water main break occurred Thursday morning. Crews finished repairing the break at 2 a.m. Friday, but the state Department of Environmental Protection required that samples had to be clear for two straight 24-hour periods.
Celich said that Friday’s samples came back clear at about 11 a.m. Saturday, and Saturday’s samples came back clear at about 9:35 a.m. Sunday. At that point, the authority was just waiting for the DEP to confirm that it was OK to lift the boil advisory.
SECOND UPDATE:
Water samples taken during the day Friday came back normal, but it could be until Sunday at the earliest before a boil water notice is lifted for Municipal Authority of the Township of Robinson customers.
A water main break that occurred Thursday morning forced the authority to issue the boil water notice later in the day. Crews finished repairing the break at 2 a.m. Friday and samples taken during the day Friday looked “as good as what we’d normally expect day in and day out,” said Stan Celich, a member of the authority board.
Celich said the state Department of Environmental Protection requires two straight 24-hour samples to come back clean in order for the boil water notice to be lifted. Celich said the state DEP — not the authority — makes that determination.
Celich said more samples would be taken Saturday and Sunday. He said a best-case scenario would see the boil water ban lifted later Sunday or into Monday.
UPDATE:
Crews working overnight repaired a water main break early Friday morning that forced the Municipal Authority of the Township of Robinson to issue a boil water notice Thursday afternoon.
Stan Celich, a member of the authority board, said Friday morning that crews finished repairing the break at 2 a.m., and that the system is coming back up and the storage tanks are filling.
Celich said that needed to be done slowly to prevent any other pipes from blowing out.
“Things have gone well so far,” Celich said.
Celich said the authority would be testing the water throughout the day but ultimately it would be the Department of Environmental Protection to determine how long the boil advisory remains in place.
ORIGINAL STORY:
A boil water notice remained in place late Thursday night for Municipal Authority of the Township of Robinson customers after a water main break that was detected around noon created the potential for microbial contamination to enter the distribution system.
A MATR official said the notice could be in place for 24 hours, although that could change.
“We are making progress on the break and are gaining water pressure,” Stan Celich, a member of the authority board, said late Thursday night.
Celich said the water main break occurred in a wooded area near The Mall at Robinson.
“We had difficulty finding it because it was out in the woods,” Celich said. “It is contained and being fixed.”
The issue is affecting all MATR customers within Robinson Township, Celich said.
According to the MATR website, the water main break caused the authority’s water storage tanks to deplete, leading to the potential loss of positive water pressure.
“A loss of positive water pressure is a signal of the existence of conditions that could allow contamination to enter the distribution system through back-flow by back-pressure or back-siphonage,” the site states. “As a result, there is an increased chance that the water may contain disease-causing organisms.”
The authority strongly encourages all customers not to drink any water without first boiling it.
According to the site, customers should bring all water to a rolling boil, let it boil for one minute, and let it cool before using — or use bottled water. Customers should use boiled or bottled water for drinking, making ice, washing dishes, brushing teeth and food preparation until further notice.
The authority said that inadequately treated water may contain disease-causing organisms. These organisms include bacteria, viruses and parasites, which can cause symptoms such as nausea, cramps, diarrhea and associated headaches.
The authority noted that these symptoms are not caused only by organisms in drinking water, but also by other factors. Customers are encouraged to seek medical advice if they experience any of these symptoms and they persist.
Guardians of infants and young children and people at increased risk, such as pregnant women, some of the elderly and people with severely compromised immune systems, should seek advice from their health care advisers about drinking this water.
The authority said it would inform customers when all corrective actions have been completed and when residents no longer need to boil water.
General guidelines on ways to lessen the risk of infection by microbes are available from EPA’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1 (800) 426-4791.
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