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UPDATE: Boil Water Advisory Issued in Luzerne County

WILKES-BARRE — Pennsylvania American Water today issued a precautionary boil water advisory for customers in Kingston, Edwardsville, Forty Fort, and parts...
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WILKES-BARRE — Pennsylvania American Water today issued a precautionary boil water advisory for customers in Kingston, Edwardsville, Forty Fort, and parts of Wilkes-Barre, Swoyersville, and Luzerne following repairs on a broken 30-inch water main at the intersection of Walnut and Mercer in Kingston. Approximately 10,000 customers are affected by the boil advisory.

Prior to the start of actual repairs on the water main, the area of the break was isolated on Tuesday, and crews redirected water to maintain service to customers in a number of communities. The water that was redirected met all water quality standards, so it was not necessary for those customers to boil their water at that time.

Overnight, when an additional valve was installed to further isolate the break, more customers in the areas of Forty Fort and Kingston had their water restored.

Due to the extensive repairs and flooded conditions at the excavation site, Pennsylvania American Water is advising customers in the areas listed below to boil their water as a precaution. Repairs to the 30-inch pipe are expected to be completed sometime Thursday, which will restore service to the remaining customers.  Once these repairs are completed and water is flowing through the repaired section of pipe, Pennsylvania American Water will conduct follow-up sampling.   Once two consecutive days of test results confirm that the water meets all quality standards, the affected customers will be notified that the boil water advisory is lifted.

Customers in the following areas are included in the precautionary boil water advisory:

  • Kingston
  • Edwardsville
  • Forty Fort
  • Swoyersville – east of the Back Road, not including Back Road
  • Luzerne on the following streets:
    • Walnut
    • Carpenter
    • Academy
    • Sly
    • Charles
    • Miller
    • Chapel
    • Tener
  • Wilkes-Barre
    o        Water Street – between North and Courtright (including courthouse)
    o        Courtright Street – between River and Water
    o        Tannery
    o        Priestley
    o        Reichert


DO NOT DRINK THE WATER WITHOUT BOILING IT FIRST.
Bring all water to a rolling boil, 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.

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.

These symptoms are not caused only by organisms in drinking water, but also by other factors. If you experience any of these symptoms and they persist, you may wish to consult with your health care provider. People with severely compromised immune systems, infants and some elderly may be at increased risk. These people should seek advice about drinking water from their health care providers.

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.

To ease inconvenience, a water tanker will remain available at the following locations:
• Gateway Shopping Center, Edwardsville
• Kingston DPW Building, 3rd Avenue
• Intersection of Walnut and Wyoming Avenue, Kingston
• Luzerne Shopping Center, Luzerne

Customers are asked to bring their own containers when visiting a tanker for drinking water.

What happened? What is being done?
Pennsylvania American Water crews are completing repairs to the broken main and service is being restored to customers as repairs continue. Pennsylvania American Water is collecting and analyzing additional water quality samples including bacteria samples.

We will inform you when the corrective actions have been completed and you no longer need to boil your water.  This information will also be provided on Pennsylvania American Water’s website at http://www.pennsylvaniaamwater.com, under the Alerts Notifications section.

For more information, contact Pennsylvania American Water’s customer service center at (800) 565-7292.

Please share this information with all the other people who drink this water, especially those who may not have received this notice directly (for example, people in apartments, nursing homes, schools and businesses). You can do this by posting this notice in a public place or distributing copies by hand or mail.

PWS ID Number: PA2409013 Date issued:  August 20, 2015

Commonly Asked Questions and Answers

When will the break be repaired?
Overnight, crews installed an additional valve to further isolate the break.  This not only allowed us to restore service to additional customers in Forty Fort and Kingston, but also to stop water from running into the area of excavation.  It also creates a safer work environment and allowed contractors to access the broken main. We are anticipating completing the repairs sometime Thursday (8/20)

Do I have to boil my water?
Yes, Pennsylvania American Water has issued a precautionary boil advisory for all customers in the following areas impacted by the break.

  • Kingston
  • Edwardsville
  • Forty Fort
  • Swoyersville – east of the Back Road, not including Back Road
  • Luzerne on the following streets:
    • Walnut
    • Carpenter
    • Academy
    • Sly
    • Charles
    • Miller
    • Chapel
    • Tener
  • Wilkes-Barre
    o        Water Street – between North and Courtright (including courthouse)
    o        Courtright Street – between River and Water
    o        Tannery
    o        Priestley
    o        Reichert

Why didn’t I have to boil my water before?
Prior to the start of actual repairs on the water main, the area of the break was isolated and crews redirected water to maintain service to customers in a number of communities. The water that was redirected met all water quality standards, so it was not necessary for those customers to boil their water at that time. We are advising customers now to boil their water as a precaution due to the extensive repairs and flooded conditions at the excavation site. Repairs to the 30-inch pipe are expected to be completed sometime Thursday, which will restore service to all remaining customers.  Once the repairs are completed and water is flowing through the repaired section of pipe, Pennsylvania American Water will conduct follow-up sampling to ensure the water meets all regulatory standards.

My water was brown, cloudy and discolored, does that mean I should have been boiling the water before using it?
No, the discolored water was caused when crews redirected water through the system to maintain service for as many customers as possible. By redirecting the water, it stirred up sediment in the pipes and led to some customers experiencing discolored water. So it wasn’t necessary at the time to boil your water because it met all regulatory standards. And the discoloring typically disappears after customer run the faucets for a few minutes.

How long do I have to boil?
All customers need to boil until further notice.  Once the repairs are completed, Pennsylvania American Water will conduct follow-up sampling for lifting the boil advisory.  Once two consecutive days of test results  confirm that the water meets all quality standards, the affected customers will be notified that the boil water advisory is lifted.

Why is it taking so long to fix this break?
The break is located on a section of pipe that is under a storm water culvert.  It is a very difficult section to access.  Additionally, because of the size of the 30-inch pipe and the large amount of water draining from it, we needed to install an additional valve  to isolate the leak and enable crews to get access to the damaged pipe and make repairs.

Are alternative water supplies available if I don’t want to boil my water?
Yes, water tankers will remain available at the following locations until the boil advisory is lifted:
• Gateway Shopping Center, Edwardsville
• Kingston DPW Building, 3rd Avenue
• Intersection of Walnut and Wyoming Avenue, Kingston
• Luzerne Shopping Center, Luzerne

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