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Several thousand customers of the Williamsport Municipal Water Authority have been asked to boil their water until further notice as a precautionary measure following two water main breaks that were repaired even as the advisory remains in effect.
About 354 connections that included the Williamsport Area High School, Williamsport Area Middle School, residential areas and industries -- about 4,000 to 5,000 customers in all were put under the precautionary advisory, said Michael Miller, authority executive director, and Wendy Walter, authority director of safety and compliance.
The advisory indicated those in the affected areas may be at increased risk from microbial contamination due to a loss of positive water pressure that was experienced due to a main break.
The affected areas included:
• Hillside Avenue from Fox Hollow Road to West Fourth Street
• West Fourth Street from Millionaire Drive to Daughtertys Run Road
• Wahoo Drive (all)
• Towncrest Road (all)
• West End Terrace, including Terrace Lane, Centreline Avenue, Laurel Run Circle and Wisteria Lane
• Nicely Lane from West Fourth Street to Fox Hollow Road, including Williamsport Area High School and Williamsport Area Middle School
The WMWA has worked around the clock starting Wednesday afternoon and have corrected the leaks.
Residents should not drink the water without boiling it first.
Bring all water to a rolling boil, let it boil for one minute, and let it cool before using, or use bottled water. Boiled or bottled water should be used for drinking, making ice, brushing teeth, washing dishes, and food preparation until further notice.
In addition, a water buffalo tank will be made accessible to the public at Williamsport Area Middle School.
Containers will not be provided. Residents should bring sanitized, portable containers to transport potable water from the distribution location. More detailed information can be found at https://www.wmwa-wsa.org.
It generally requires a few days of sampling, Walter said. The state Department of Environmental Protection will provide the authority with the update and when the water boil advisory will be lifted and that notice will be given to the public.
This is precisely the reason why the authority is thankful that the administration of Mayor Derek Slaughter and City Council have reached consensus to place money from the American Rescue Plan Act fund into the public works section budget for authority repair and replacement of water mains, Miller said.
Additionally, it has been a "rough" year with numerous freezes and frost and thaws that have caused ground to heave and is hard on existing water mains, some of which are targeted for repair.
"We try to do 1 percent a year at the current rates," Miller said.
In this case, the first main break occurred and a secondary main break occurred when the crews turned valves and extra water pressure broke the secondary main. The water pressure at the location is high -- at 250 pounds per square inch, and that is why the second pipe broke.
Besides the water main replacement the authority and city are coordinating on the street paving jobs this spring and summer. The city public works committee regularly meets with authority representatives including Miller and Walter and others do update city officials on projects.
Residents may call the WMWA office at 570-323-6148 with any questions.