Boil water advisory issued for MAWC customers in Hempfield and Unity

A boil water advisory was issued Saturday morning to about 4,500 Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County customers in portions of Hempfield and Unity.

The advisory is expected to be in place until at least Monday morning, authority spokesman Matthew Junker said. Officials said customers will be notified when repairs are made and the boil advisory is lifted.

Authority officials said a line break in the West Point neighborhood of Hempfield caused water to drain from the tank that serves the area that stretches east toward Arnold Palmer Regional Airport along and near Route 130.

Water has been rerouted, and service was restored.

But, because the service lines had to be drained, customers in the impacted area are being asked to boil water for at least a minute before use as a precaution.

A loss of water pressure signals conditions that could allow contamination to enter the distribution system through backflow or by being siphoned. As a result, there is an increased chance that the water may contain disease-causing organisms, the authority said.