Tortured water: PWSA is the city’s No.
1 problem to fix.
A consultant Monday described the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority as being “on its last leg.” There was no need to tell that to the thousands of North Side, Millvale and Reserve customers placed under a boil water advisory after bird and animal droppings were feared to have penetrated torn reservoir covers and contaminated the water.
These range from outsourcing services to “aggressive internal improvement” to a new ownership or management structure.
Mayor Bill Peduto acknowledged such worries Monday when he said, “There is no backup system.
It has taken the city decades to shed its Rust Belt reputation, but even a short-lived water crisis would be sufficient to revive old stereotypes.
Pittsburgh easily could become the next Flint, Mich., a national symbol of neglect and failure.
There are no federal or state programs to bail us out.” It’s time for Mr. Peduto to put a plan before the city, give consumers an opportunity to weigh in and move forward.
Meanwhile, PWSA should test its system for weaknesses — are any other reservoir covers in need of replacement?
In June, the state House passed a bill that would give the Public Utility Commission oversight of PWSA.

Officials Lay Out Detailed Timeline Leading Up To Boil Water Advisory.
The interim director for the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority, Bob Weimar, says the order could be lifted by Thursday, or Friday at the latest.
It was also pointed out at a press conference Tuesday afternoon in the Mayor’s Office that no one has reported getting sick from the water.
Some members of City Council, including Councilwoman Darlene Harris who represents the North Side, wishes she had known something about the issue before Monday night.
According Weimar Monday night: “This past Friday, we identified there may be a problem at that reservoir.” That’s the Lanpher Reservoir in Shaler.
And at a press conference Tuesday afternoon, he got even more detailed, stating that a water test on Saturday showed no coliform bacteria.
While no water quality problem was found, based on the physical condition of the cover and the potential for bird dropping contamination, the Mayor’s Office was told Monday afternoon that a boil water advisory was coming.
“At 4:01, received an email from the DEP,” said Mayor’s Office Chief of Staff Kevin Acklin.
But then came a problem: Rather than the whole city boiling water, they had to show the state that the reservoir only affected a certain area.
“Spent about an hour and half clarifying one point of the order, that had to do with the impact area,” said Acklin.

PWSA precautionary boil water advsory for 18,000 customers to continue to at least Thursday.
The precautionary boil water advisory will continue through at least Thursday for Pittsburgh Water and Sewer authority customers in 19 city North Side neighborhoods plus Reserve and Millvale, a PWSA official said during a joint news conference with Mayor Bill Peduto on Tuesday.
"Frankly, I can’t say at this point with absolute certainty.
At the very latest, we hope it will be Friday, said Bob Weimar, PWSA interim director, who apologized to customers for problems the situation caused for customers.
Officials said the precautions were taken because of tears and deterioration discovered in the cover on the Lanpher reservoir.
Routine water test result on Friday, prompted a closer examination of the water system and the reservoir, but did not indicate a need for a boil water advisory.
His formal report on Monday indicated that there was a tear in the reservoir cover that risked contamination of the water by bird and animal droppings.
Weimar said that now that chlorine levels in the water have stabilized, the DEP requires acceptable water test readings on two consecutive days, at least 12 hours apart before the order can be lifted.
It’s going to take at least a decade to be able to solve the problems within PWSA and it is going to cost billions of dollars.
The mayor’s chief of staff, Kevin Acklin, said the city government’s first indication there would be a boil water advisory came in an email from the DEP at 4:01 p.m. Monday.

Discrepancies uncovered for PWSA boil water advisory still in effect.
It includes the city’s northern neighborhoods, Millvale and Reserve Township.
Channel 11 grilled city leaders several times about this latest problem with the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority.
Channel 11 told you about the water problems Monday night: bacteria-contaminated water, possibly from a tear in the cover of the Lanpher Reservoir in Shaler Township.
Now we’ve learned the DEP is doing another investigation.
City leaders and PWSA officials told us they started looking into this Friday.
But it wasn’t until Monday that the DEP learned of tears, which led to the advisory.
“I heard as a resident before I heard as a councilwoman,” Councilwoman Darlene Harris said.
The PWSA has to have two consecutive days of negative results for any bacteria in order for DEP to lift the advisory.
© 2017 Cox Media Group.

PITTSBURGH – Strong words from Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto about a boil advisory that’s impacting more than 20,000 Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority customers.
Peduto told the press Tuesday this will likely happen again.
The temporary advisory is due to deficiencies in the cover of the Lanpher reservoir that could compromise water quality.
“Once we get two consecutive samples with no detection of coliform, then we will get the order lifted.” PWSA is coordinating with the Pennsylvania Department of Environment to ensure that all regulatory requirements for disinfection continue to be met.
Flushes will also be conducted throughout the impacted area to eliminate potentially compromised water.
PWSA estimates the precautionary flush and boil water advisory affects about 18,000 homes in its service area.
Customers within the impacted area should do the following before using water for drinking, making ice, washing dishes, brushing teeth and preparing food until further notice: Customers in this service area are being advised to flush their taps and then boil their fresh water to ensure that drinking water meets or exceeds all state and federal water quality requirements.
Flushing water brings in fresh water from the main and boiling fresh water kills any bacteria and other organisms that can enter the water.
You can also use bottled water.
Impacted customers will be notified by PWSA through automated robocalls.The boil water advisory will remain in place until further notice.

SMOOTH ROCK FALLS – A boil water advisory has been issued for residents located on the north end of Fifth Street in Smooth Rock Falls.
Denis Dolbec, senior operator with the Ontario Clean Water Agency, said the advisory, which was called on Tuesday, will likely remain in effect at least until this upcoming weekend.
During repair work on Fifth Street, a water line was accidentally broken, prompting emergency repairs and subsequent the boil water advisory.
Dolbec told The Daily Press in an interview Tuesday afternoon that once the repairs to the broken valve were completed, public works would have to send two sets of water samples taken 24 hours apart for analysis.
The samples, he said, will be sent to a lab in Kirkland Lake.
If both samples come back clear of contaminants, the boil water advisory will be lifted, he said.
According to a release issued by the Town of Smooth Rock Falls: “The advisory remains in effect until test results show that the water quality is good.
The Town of Smooth Rock Falls will notify the building owners when the boil water advisory has been lifted.” Under a boil water advisory, residents who live at properties serviced by a municipal system should not drink the water, use it to brush their teeth or use it to wash fruits or vegetables, which would be consumed without cooking.
“People should ensure that water used for cooking comes to a full boil.” Aside from concerns about drinking the water, town officials assured the water is safe enough for bathing in and washing clothes.
For more information, residents are invited to contact Kevin Labarron, public works superintendent at the Town of Smooth Rock Falls, or Denis Dolbec, the regional manager with Ontario Clean Water Agency, at 705-362-8481.

Water returns to Odem, but a boil advisory remains in place.
ODEM, TEXAS (KIII NEWS) – After three days without running water in Odem, San Patricio County remained under a water boil advisory Tuesday.
San Patricio County remained under a water boil advisory Tuesday, but that was a big step forward for the residents of Odem, Texas, who have been without running water for the past three days.
Residents said power went out Friday right before the storm and then water turned off the next day.
Now it’s running again, but they’re being advised by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to boil water before consuming it.
Odem Mayor Billy Huerta expects the tests to come back clear within the next 24 hours.
Besides the water, Odem Elementary School was also a victim of Harvey Saturday morning, with major damage to its roof; but Odem Superintendent Dr. Lisa Gonzalez assures families that school will resume Tuesday, Sept. 5.
In addition to Odem, Sinton also remains under a water boil, but is expecting that advisory to be lifted Tuesday.

Flush And Boil Water Advisory To Remain In Effect Until At Least Thursday, PWSA Says.
An estimated 18,000 homes in Pittsburgh’s northern neighborhoods, Millvale and Reserve Township will continue to be under a flush and boil water advisory until at least Thursday, Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority officials said Tuesday.
The problem stems from bird and animal droppings on the aging cover over the Lanpher Reservoir in Shaler.
The advisory was announced just hours after a consulting company called the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority "a failed organization atop a dangerous and crumbling infrastructure."
Mayor Bill Peduto said the reservoir’s problem is an example of greater issues at the PWSA.
"This is a situation that we’re going to face time and time again," he said during a scheduled update late Tuesday.
"We have an antiquated system that in certain areas is beyond a failure point."
The 21-year-old cover was scheduled for replacement in 2018, but that will be moved up.
Repairs are expected to begin next week and cost an estimated $9 million over nine months.
The city’s Highland 2 Reservoir can be tapped for affected residents during that time.

Corbett Creek Water System under boil order.
(By Staff Reports/Chewelah Independent) Boil order was put in place Aug. 4… Residents using the Corbett Creek Water System near Colville have been ordered to boil their water after E. coli bacteria was detected on Aug. 4.
“We use it as a water testing indicator as it can mean a fecal contamination in the well or part of the system is not working properly.” The well serves 91 people according to the Department of Ecology.
A test showing E. coli can mean human or animal pathogens in the water which can cause short-term effects such as diarrhea, cramps, nausea and other health issues.
Spradley said that while a small amount of people said they had felt ill, it’s hard to trace it back to the well and if there was a E. coli outbreak there would be more than a few cases.
“It could be something as simple as not washing their hands before eating,” Spradley said.
According to a notice sent out to people, the current operator of the system has chlorinated the reservoir and is working on the system.
The purveyor of the water system will continue to take samples and the state will review the results.
Several clean results could result in the lifting of the boil ban.
The water system operator is responsible for getting this work done, and to date they have been very responsive.” As of Aug. 24, the system was still under a boil order and residents had to deal with the 20-acre Gold Creek Loop Fire during the middle of the month which had some under level 3 evacuation orders meaning they had to leave their homes until the fire was deemed contained.

Water returns to Odem, but a boil advisory remains in place.
ODEM, TEXAS (KIII NEWS) – After three days without running water in Odem, San Patricio County remained under a water boil advisory Tuesday.
San Patricio County remained under a water boil advisory Tuesday, but that was a big step forward for the residents of Odem, Texas, who have been without running water for the past three days.
Residents said power went out Friday right before the storm and then water turned off the next day.
Now it’s running again, but they’re being advised by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to boil water before consuming it.
Odem Mayor Billy Huerta expects the tests to come back clear within the next 24 hours.
Besides the water, Odem Elementary School was also a victim of Harvey Saturday morning, with major damage to its roof; but Odem Superintendent Dr. Lisa Gonzalez assures families that school will resume Tuesday, Sept. 5.
In addition to Odem, Sinton also remains under a water boil, but is expecting that advisory to be lifted Tuesday.