NEWS INFORMATION FROM

THE OFFICE OF MAYOR STEPHEN R. REED
City of Harrisburg
King City Government Center
Harrisburg, PA 17101-1678
Telephone: 717.255.3040

FOR IMMEDIATE USE
21 September 2004

BOIL WATER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FOR HARRISBURG WATER SYSTEM

Harrisburg, PA—Mayor Stephen R. Reed announced that all customers of the Harrisburg Water System should boil any water being used for drinking or cooking for three minutes.

The advisory is because of the water’s turbidity, meaning coloration. The water still meets federal and state drinking water standards otherwise, as no contaminants were found during testing.

The Harrisburg Water System water filtration and treatment plant routinely tests water samples. The Tuesday morning test identified a turbidity level above the maximum allowable 1.0 NTU. The test identified a level of 1.3 NTU. NTU means Nephelometric turbidity unit, a measure of the particulate matter in water.

Turbidity can negatively impact the aesthetics or clarity of water, as well as the treatability of water. Suspended and colloidal matter such as clay, silt, finely divided organic and inorganic matter, plankton and other microscopic organisms can cause turbidity.

It is believed that the turbidity problem in this case has been caused by the 7.4 inch rainfall at the DeHart Dam during last Friday and Saturday, which stirred the dam’s lake, and the opening of inter-connection supply water lines this weekend when the Harrisburg Water System began supplying United Water Company with water when United was being adversely affected by flood waters.

The Harrisburg plant has altered its treatment process to reduce the discoloration and it is expected that this will result in the water meeting the turbidity standard by the end of this week.

Federal and state guidelines advise that some people may be more vulnerable to any type of contaminants in drinking water than the general population, such as persons who are immuno-compromised because of chemotherapy, have recently undergone an organ transplant, persons with HIV/AIDS, or some elderly or infants who are particularly susceptible to infections.

For further information or questions, Water System customers may call the Harrisburg Bureau of Water at 238.8725.

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