Greenville residents advised to boil water

Greenville residents
advised to boil water

GREENVILLE, Pa. — Greenville residents and all other customers of the Greenville Municipal Water Authority have been advised to boil their drinking and food preparation water until further notice because disease-causing organisms may have entered the water supply.

The advisory was issued Wednesday night by Bill Brady, head of the water authority, who said he expects the problem to be resolved by Nov. 21. Brady said residents should boil their water for one minute and let it cool before using it, or use bottled water.

Boiling kills bacteria and other organisms in the water. Boiled or bottled water should be used for drinking, making ice, brushing teeth, washing dishes and food preparation, he said.

The raw water source for the Greenville water treatment plant, the Shenango River, has shown elevated levels of Giardia, a germ that causes diarrhea, and Cryptosporidium, a diarrheal disease, and further evaluation at the treatment plant revealed that the filtration system was compromised and may not adequately filter out the pathogens.