Philadelphia Water Safe To Drink At Least Through Monday

PHILADELPHIA, PA — Philadelphia tap water will remain safe to drink at least through the end of Monday, authorities said Sunday afternoon, after initially encouraging residents to switch to bottled water following a latex spill along a tributary of the Delaware River in Bucks County.

“Through tomorrow people can be absolutely comfortable using their tap water,” Mike Carroll, Philadelphia’s deputy managing director for transportation and infrastructure systems, said at a press conference Sunday evening.

Officials confirmed water treated at the Baxter Drinking Water Treatment Plant was safe, citing hydraulic modeling and sampling. The city had closed intakes to the Baxter plant as a precaution after the spill Friday but was forced to open them overnight to ensure sufficient water supplies.

Earlier in the day, authorities suggested residents consider using bottled water for drinking and cooking. Shoppers were seen clearing shelves of water Sunday in the city.

“There’s no need to go out and buy bottled water,” Carroll said. “If you want to store water you should feel free to draw it from your tap.”

The city will again open intakes shortly after midnight Monday, but it will take at least 24 hours for that water to reach residents, according to Carroll, who said authorities will continue to test the water and provide updates, with the potential for contamination diminishing over time.

Testing so far has revealed no contamination levels near the Baxter plant, and Carroll said he hoped to report Monday that the risk had passed completely. Chemicals of potential concern include methyl methacrylate, ethyl acrylate and butyl acrylate, which was identified in connection with the East Palestine train derailment last month in Ohio, according to Carroll.

Carroll urged residents to make it a practice to always keep two days' worth of water on hand in their homes.

Officials anticipated providing another update around 11 p.m. Sunday. For more continuous updates, Philadelphia residents can visit bit.ly/3JEXQBC.

“The information has been evolving all day long," Carroll said.

The "latex emulsion product" was released from an Altuglas manufacturing facility Friday, shortly before midnight, into Otter Creek in Bristol due to an apparent equipment failure, according to its parent company, Trinseo PLC.

Trinseo estimated 8,100 gallons of the solution — about 50 percent water and the remainder latex polymer — was spilled.

The latex emulsion is a white liquid used in various consumer goods, the company said. Altuglas and regulatory agencies were testing water samples in the surrounding area to confirm the material was not a threat to people or wildlife.

“We are conducting a thorough assessment of all of our systems and processes to identify and address potential vulnerabilities and will take the steps necessary to close any gaps,” Trinseo CEO Frank Bozich said in a news release Sunday. “The release of material has been stopped and our efforts are now focused on testing the local waterways.”

The Bristol facility manufactures acrylic resins for Trinseo’s Engineered Materials business. The plant employs about 110 people.

The incident is being investigated by the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The Coast Guard advised residents to stay away from the area during the cleanup.