Water-conservation request could be lifted Monday in Shenango Valley

Staff report

SHARON, PA.

Aqua Pennsylvania officialssay they hope they can lift the water conservation request sometime Monday for customers in the Shenango Valley, Pa., and a small portion of Trumbull County in Ohio.

However, Aqua is waiting to evaluate the effect of Sunday’s heavy rains on the Shenango River, the source of water for the Shenango water treatment plant, before lifting the request put out after a crude-oil spill Friday into a tributary in Brookfield Township that runs into the river.

The spill caused Aqua to shut down the raw-water intake at its Sharon water-treatment plant as a precaution to protect its drinking water supply. Booms were placed in the tributary and Shenango River to capture the oil.

As of Sunday morning, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection had not authorized Aqua to lift the conservation request.