PWSA Lifts Boil Water Advisory for Remaining Areas

Customers can resume normal water use

Pittsburgh, PA - Today, the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority (PWSA) has lifted the boil water advisory for the remaining six areas impacted by Sunday’s power outage. These zones include: 

  • Zone 3: East Liberty, Highland Park, Garfield
  • Zone 4: Bloomfield, Friendship
  • Zone 5: Homewood North
  • Zone 6: Shadyside
  • Zone 7: North Point Breeze
  • Zone 9: South Oakland

Today's announcement follows the partial lift that occurred yesterday in Morningside and Stanton Heights (Zones 1 and 2), Point Breeze (Zone 8), and Swisshelm Park (Zone 10). The advisory is now lifted for all areas. 

In these remaining areas, PWSA completed two consecutive rounds of water quality testing that did not show any evidence of microbial contamination. The water in these impacted areas is safe to drink.

Customers are no longer advised to boil tap water before consumption. The PWSA recommends that customers using their water for the first time since Sunday run their taps for at least one minute before using it for cooking or drinking. This helps remove stagnant water from plumbing and brings in fresh water from water mains.

Our interactive map is available for those who wish to verify that their location has been lifted from the boil water advisory.

What is the process for lifting a boil water advisory?

On Sunday, February 12th, PWSA experienced a power outage at one of our pump stations which caused the water system to lose pressure in high-elevation areas of the East End of Pittsburgh and South Oakland. PWSA issued a boil water advisory, a state regulatory requirement to ensure drinking water safety. Those impacted by the power outage were asked to boil their water while PWSA conducted two rounds of water sampling to ensure water was safe to drink.

PWSA tests for Total Coliform, which is a group of bacteria known as an indicator of microbial contamination. After we’ve obtained the required samples, they are sent to the lab. 

The incubation is 24 hours for each of the two required samples. These samples are collected, prepared, analyzed, and reported by PWSA employees. When the tests come back negative for Total Coliforms, PWSA can lift the advisory and those impacted can use their water as normal.

In the instance of this boil water advisory, PWSA needed to collect 29 samples from representative locations within the impact area. Since we were not able to obtain many of these samples until Monday, additional time was needed before we could lift this advisory per the regulations we are required to follow. 

The advisory was issued in an abundance of caution to ensure the safety of our water and customers. We recognize that this is an inconvenience and greatly appreciate everyone’s support and cooperation.  

Customers are encouraged to take simple precautionary steps to minimize disruptions at home by keeping several days of bottled water on hand and making sure we have your updated emergency contact information www.pgh2o.com/update-contact-info.