Duquesne Residents Raise Concerns After Getting Contamination Notice From Water Authority

DUQUESNE, Pa. (KDKA) -- The City of Duquesne Water Authority services more than 2,000 customers with the water it purchases from Westmoreland County.

And by the end of the week, most customers in the city will have received a contamination notice letting them know there's something in the water. But local leaders told KDKA it's nothing to panic about.

Representatives from the Duquesne Water Authority and Public Works Department sat down with KDKA to disprove rumors that the drinking water is dangerous.

Frank DiPaolo, the water operator for the City of Duquesne, said, "It would have to be gallons and gallons every day for years and years" in order to be hazardous.

He and his colleagues have been flooded with calls from customers since the notice went out showing that in April the water tested .003 MG/L above the state drinking water standard for trihalomethane, a chemical by-product of chlorine.

"The longer the water sits and the warmer it is, the more propensity it the THM will have to form at a higher level," said DiPaolo.

While the letter does state that people with specific medical conditions, weak immune systems, pregnant women and infants should check with a doctor before consuming the water, leaders stress this is not an emergency.

And no boil order, alternative water or panicking is needed.

"If the water was at a point where you couldn't drink it, we would not let anyone drink it," said DiPaolo.

The water authority said the issue can be dissolved by flushing the city's water tanks, reservoirs and hydrants. This should cost a couple of thousand dollars and be done by July, officials said.

The Duquesne Water Authority also plans on purchasing more water mixers to keep the water moving. This would help prevent situations like this in the future.