34 homes affected by boil-water advisory

DOWNINGTOWN >> A small portion of Downingtown is on a boil water advisory since Thursday afternoon due to main shutdown during a fire hydrant replacement.

The Downingtown Municipal Water Authority (DMWA) issued the boil water advisory, and notified the impacted customers with a letter and a phone call. Residents must boil the water prior to drinking it or cooking with it.

The DMWA, which routinely monitor the conditions in the distribution system, announced that at about 2 p.m. Thursday, it experienced a loss of positive water pressure due to a fire hydrant repair.

“A loss of positive water pressure is a signal of the existence of conditions that could allow contamination to enter the distribution system through back-flow by back pressure or back siphonage,” the DMWA stated in a notice posted on its website. “As a result, there is an increased chance that the water may contain disease-causing organisms.”

There are 34 homes affected on Friday by the boil advisory. DMWA said those residents are advised to bring all water to a rolling boil, let it boil for one minute, and let it cool before using; or use bottled water. People should use boiled or bottled water for drinking, making ice, washing dishes, brushing teeth, and food preparation until further notice.

In order to replace a fire hydrant, that water service was shut down for portions of Prospect Avenue from Donofrio Drive to Jacqueline Drive. Residents on Church Street between St. Anthony’s Lane and Prospect Avenue were also affected.

DMWA said the repair is under way and testing will be conducted to ensure that the water is safe prior to lifting the boil water advisory.