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Bird droppings lead to PWSA boil water advisory

Torn, degraded reservoir covers found at Lanpher Reservoir Tens of thousands of residents in Pittsburgh’s northern neighborhoods are under a “boil water” advisory Tuesday morning after concerns were raised about possible contamination of the Lanpher Reservoir in Shaler.
The potential problem, officials said, has been traced to bird and animal droppings on 20-year-old reservoir covers that are torn and degrading.
Water stations will be set up — at locations to be announced Tuesday morning — for residents who cannot boil water.
And they cannot be protected from birds and animals, which can cause perforations, Mr. Weimar said.
The mayor, however, said the city is going to take a costly hit.
“We will not be able to solve the problems at PWSA in a few years.
There are numerous issues and if one thing goes down within this authority, the potential of not having water in this city is very real.
It’s going to take many years to create the type of system that this city deserves and it’s going to cost billions of dollars, and they’re floating in debt and can’t borrow the money they need.
We want to be able, in the next 12 years, to provide a system of safe drinking water that will take us to 2080.
It doesn’t come easy and it won’t be solved in less than 10 years.” Customers with questions on the advisory can visit www.pgh2o.com or call the authority’s customer service line at 412-255-2423.

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