Boil water advisory lifted for Penn Hills residents

Residents in Penn Hills who recently were told to boil their water before digesting it can safely return to using their water as normal.

Customers were notified Sept. 23 that a small mouse was discovered in one of the tanks during a routine inspection, meaning that disease-causing organisms could have entered the water.

A large number of streets in Penn Hills were affected by the boil water advisory.

The Oakmont Water Authority said the mouse was able to get into the tank due to inadequate protection of the water reserves. The system was flushed and cleaned with disinfectants.

Multiple rounds of chlorine and bacteria samples were taken to confirm that the water was safe to drink.

“I pulled dozens over the last eight days, not a single one came back positive,” said Kevin Wood, Oakmont Water Authority purification superintendent. He said that they typically pull around 40 samples a month.

“We as a company flushed from (Sept. 23) at midnight to (Sept. 26) at midnight,” Wood said. “Almost 72 hours of straight flushing the possibly contaminated water. I want to make sure all the guys get credit for putting the extra hours in for the safety of the public.”

The water was deemed safe to drink Sept. 29.

During the advisory, residents in the effected areas were told to bring their water to a boil for one minute, then let it cool. The other option was to drink bottled water.

For any consumption of water, whether through drinking, teeth brushing or cooking, people were told to use boiled or bottled water.