by Eric Poole, originally posted on January 19, 2017

NORTH BEAVER TWP. — Mohawk Area School District students will likely return to classes Friday after contamination to the well that supplies water to the high school is repaired.

The district announced Tuesday on its website that heavy rains and flash flooding had caused a problem with a well that supplies water to Mohawk High School. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection confirmed Thursday that testing showed the presence of E. coli bacteria in the high school’s water supply.

The state Department of Environmental Protection declared the high school’s drinking water to be safe and lifted a boil water advisory Thursday afternoon, clearing students to return to school Friday.

DEP officials removed the advisory after testing on two consecutive days found the water to be free of bacteria.

In a release Wednesday, Mohawk officials announced that classes were canceled Thursday, but said work crews have connected the high school’s water system to the elementary school’s well, which has passed all testing. The district is submitting samples for testing and evaluation by the DEP. Administrators said school would probably resume Friday, after three days without classes.

The district’s closure Tuesday and Wednesday will be teacher in-service days, and therefore will not need to be made up later in the school year. Students were off Monday for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. However, Mohawk will have class on Feb. 20, originally scheduled as a day off, to make up for Thursday’s cancellation.

The cancellations Thursday affected activities and sporting events. The Mohawk’s girls basketball game against Ellwood City, scheduled for Thursday night at Mohawk, was moved to Geneva College.