KANE — Pennsylvania American Water issued another update Tuesday validating activity of ongoing efforts to eliminate taste and odor issues that have been plaguing residents since Wednesday of last week.
The update states, “Pennsylvania America Water is making progress on our efforts to help alleviate the taste and odor from your tap water.”
Social media has been the site of many complaints of the taste and odor and the update responded directly to those concerns.
“This is a taste and odor issue and not a problem with the water’s quality. All testing has confirmed the water quality has not been compromised by contaminants — and our customers’ water is safe to use for all purposes,” the company stated. “We are not downplaying customer concerns about the taste and odor of the water, and our employees are working hard to resolve the issue, but we want to reinforce the water quality meets all regulatory standards and is safe.”
The update goes on to say that the odor has been eliminated at their processing plant and those areas closest to it, citing also that areas of the system with continued odors are likely influenced by the course the water takes to customers’ homes.
They explained that homes closest to the treatment plant during high-demand times will receive water in almost a direct path, whereas when demand is low, they could receive water that has been routed through storage tanks. In further out areas, water mains can hold water until it is used and replaced with more recently treated reserves. This layout and process is likely why some areas are still experiencing odors.
At the time of the release, parts of the distribution system were still being flushed by Pennsylvania American Water workers, but the weather was hampering their efforts.
“The return of freezing weather is challenging our ability to conduct widespread flushing without compromising the safety for our employees, customers, and motorists. We are focused on flushing areas that won’t cause additional disruptions to your water quality and compromise safety,” company officials stated.
To ensure continued water quality, officials were continuing to sample water and have stressed that the results are well within the compliance regulations set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).
In another statement of commitment to customer satisfaction, Pennsylvania American Water stated, “We will not deviate from our current activities until the system has been replenished with odor-free drinking water for all of our customers. Our team and water quality experts are still working to identify the cause of this condition. When the cause has been identified, we will take the appropriate steps to prevent further instances.”
