Philadelphia Water Department is advising residents to drink bottled water Sunday afternoon after a chemical leak that occurred in a Delaware River tributary.
A latex spill occurred in Bristol Township, Bucks County, on Friday. While no contaminants have yet been found in the tap water system, residents are encouraged to switch to bottled water after 2 p.m. Sunday out of an abundance of caution.
MORE: At least two dead after chocolate factory explosion in West Reading, police say
“As has been reported, on Friday night, a chemical spill occurred in Bristol Township, Bucks County which released contaminants into the Delaware River,” Michael Carroll, deputy managing director for the Office of Transportation, Infrastructure and Sustainability (OTIS), said in a statement. “The Philadelphia Water Department (PWD) became aware of this through the Delaware Valley Early Warning System (EWS) and has been evaluating the situation since that time to understand potential impacts to the public. Although early indications have not revealed contamination, we are still monitoring the situation and conducting testing.”
The sections of the city that are impacted include South Philly, Center City, Northeast Philly, North Philly, the River Wards and parts of Germantown, Olney and East and West Oak Lane.
A map of areas potentially affected by the spill can be seen below.
Source/Philadelphia Water Department
Delaware River Latex Spill Impact Map
At this link, residents can input their addresses to precisely determine whether they are in the impacted areas.
People in the affected areas should avoid drinking or cooking with tap water, according to officials.
Staff Photo/PhillyVoice
An alert sent to Philadelphia residents encouraging them to drink bottled water following the chemical leak in the Delaware River.
Carroll, along with Randy Hayman, Philadelphia Water Department commissioner, gave a press conference Sunday morning that can be viewed online.
“Contaminates have not been found in our water system at this time and we expect that theres no risk that they will be present anywhere in our system before about 2 p.m. today,” Carroll said during the press conference. “Nonetheless because we cannot be 100 percent that there will not be traces of these chemicals in the tap water throughout the entire afternoon, we want the public to be aware so that people can consider switching to bottled water to further minimize any risk.”
Kyle Neubeck/PhillyVoice
A line forms outside an Acme in South Philly amid advisories for Philly residents to switch to bottled water following a chemical leak into the Delaware River.
Kyle Neubeck/PhillyVoice
Shelves formerly holding water bottle cases are emptied out in a South Philly Acme following an advisory to avoid drinking tap water.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
