Residents of Abington have been saying for several days that their drinking water tastes and smells of chemicals or plastic, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported today in an article titled “Why the water suddenly stinks in Abington“.
Aqua Pennsylvania issued an advisory regarding the complaints, according to the company’s disruption map. The advisory affects customers in eastern Montgomery and western Bucks counties, including Abington, Willow Grove, and Trevose. Residents of Cheltenham Township have also complained of issues with their water this week.
According to the story, the company said today that the water is safe to drink and that the drought forced the water provider to use different sources of water.
“First and foremost, the water is safe to drink,” the company said in a statement emailed to The Inquirer. “The noticeable taste and smell, often reported as a stronger smell of chlorine, was traced to our Neshaminy Plant, which supplies water to portions of Montgomery and Bucks counties. We believe the drought conditions have led to changes with our source water that is impacting the taste and smell of the drinking water.”
Aqua Pennsylvania expects the issue to resolve within a few days as rain (such as greater Glenside has had today) helps the company adjusts its treatment process.
Township Commissioner John Spiegelman posted Wednesday morning regarding “the extra-chlorine-y/chemical-y taste and smell” after residents contacted him.
From his post:
I contacted Aqua directly, and they have been doing site testing at various locations to try to figure out what’s going on. If you’re experiencing this gross phenomenon in your drinking water, Aqua asks that you please call 877-987-2782 and either hit 9 or say “Emergency”—that will connect you with a live dispatcher who will take your info and send a team to investigate and hopefully identify the source of this situation. Thank you.
Last week, we reported that Montgomery County does not have fluoride added to the water by any of the county’s 39 water systems.
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