Yahoo Autos As toxic spill cleanup continues in Bristol, tap water in Bucks County is deemed safe
While the latex spill that is causing so much concern in Philadelphia happened in Bristol Township, Bucks County officials say the drinking water here has not been contaminated.
Why has the response to the chemical spill differed in Bucks County vs. Philadelphia?
Aqua Pennsylvania, the private water company that serves many municipalities in Bucks County, has a treatment plant in Bristol but it is upstream of where the spill occurred at the Trinseo Altuglas latex manufacturer near the Otter Creek in Bristol Township on Friday, and Aqua said it shut down the water treatment plant as soon as it learned of the spill. Testing shows its water supply has remained unaffected, officials said.
It has since reopened its plant when tides are carrying river water out to sea and closing them as a safety precaution when the tide is incoming.
“We monitor the tide and shut down the plant when it begins to move upstream. We have no evidence of water quality concerns around our intake ... Our water quality has remained unaffected since the spill occurred around 12 a.m. on Saturday, March 25,” the company said.
The company also is sending water from other regions it serves to Bucks to make up for the Bristol plant being shut down.
The Lower Bucks County Joint Municipal Authority also stated its intake is up the river from where Otter Creek meets the Delaware River and its potable water is not affected, though it is monitoring the situation.
More: Is Bucks County at risk after Delaware River chemical spill ? What we know about drinking water
Are other water utilities affected in Bucks County?
Other water utilities serving Bucks include the Pennsylvania American Water, the Township of Falls Authority and the North Penn and North Wales water authorities that supply water to the Bucks County Water and Sewer Authority, take water from farther up the river and since the non-tidal portions of the river flow southward, their intakes have not been affected.
