UPDATE: Boil alert in effect for Austintown and Canfield townships till Tuesday afternoon

YOUNGSTOWN

The Youngstown City Water Department expects to know by Tuesday afternoon whether the boil alert issued at about 8:30 p.m. Sunday for customers in Austintown and Canfield townships can be lifted.

This is strictly a precautionary measure, said Eugene Leson, chief engineer for the city water department. He said water samples were being tested today by the Mahoning Valley Sanitary District. Once the results are known, which takes about 24 hours, he expects the boil order to be lifted.

The problem was an electrical failure at the Webb Road pump station which feeds the areas affected. Leson said the back-up generator kicked on and off six times in the four-hour period before a breaker was tripped. Power was restored at about 8:30 p.m. Sunday.

Because of the boil alert, the Mahoning County Health Department said residents and businesses must use a potable source of water for all facets of water usage until further notice. To ensure safety, residents must use bottled water or must boil their water, bringing it to a boil for at least one minute

Guidelines for residents on what to do when an interruption of potable water occurs can be found on the county health department’s website at http://www.mahoninghealth.org/boil-water-alert-information.