The Philadelphia Water Department has declared Philadelphia’s drinking water is safe to drink and use. The Philadelphia Water Department determined that the drinking water will not be impacted by the spill in Bucks County. The city ended the ongoing advisories about monitoring at the Baxter Drinking Water Treatment Plant.
No contamination was found in the Philadelphia Water Department water system at any point since the spill.
The Philadelphia Water Department was monitoring a spill of latex product along the Delaware River tributary in Bristol Township, Bucks County, late Friday, March 24, 2023.
The latex product is used to make headlight covers and the primary substance that was tested was butyl acrylate, ethyl acrylate, and methyl methacrylate.
The Baxter Drinking Water Treatment Plant is one of the three main water treatment facilities that provide water to the city’s residents.
Nicola Mammes, the Director for Emergency Management at Temple, says, “the water is safe, the water is clean. You can use it for drinking, cooking, and bathing.”
Earlier than that, Temple University took proactive measures by covering water fountains. But uncovered them when Temple was alerted that the water would not be impacted at that time.
This incident had Mammes prepared for what could happen in the future.
Mammes stated, “All of the plans that we were discussing for water distribution included those dining halls. And if we were in a similar situation in the future, again, we would include that as a consideration.”
Owls were concerned and worried about their water usage and access on campus.
“I was working at the time it was announced. So I was a bit worried. But when I had got home, actually, my parents had notified me that they had found some like bottled water, like bottled water packages that they have from like a nearby grocery store supermarket,” said Noah Thomas-Sned
Marshal Ral, a freshman at Temple even stated, “I thought it was like really sad because like, this isn’t like the first thing that’s happened this year and it’s feels like it just keeps on getting worse. So it kind of felt like apocalyptic in a way.”
Some students had help from families who lived outside of Bristol Township. Jennifer Le, a senior Owl says, “I’m fortunate enough to be able to go to the suburbs and get water. And I know a lot of people aren’t going to be able to.”
If students want to keep up to date on the latest updates they can follow Temple University Emergency Mgmt. on Twitter at TempleUOEM.
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