A boil water advisory for Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County customers in the Jeannette, Penn Township and Irwin areas is expected to continue into Saturday.
Water authority officials said Friday that an initial water quality test found no contaminants but that a second clear test is needed before the boil advisory can be lifted.
“We expect that second test to come back sometime Saturday morning,” said authority spokesman Matthew Junker.
Work crews spent more than a day repairing a water line break near 13th Street in Jeannette. It’s a transmission line that moves water from the Beaver Run Reservoir in Bell to the central part of Westmoreland County.
Officials said 18 inches of pipe had to be replaced but the repairs proved difficult as the damaged area of the line was buried 22-feet underground and encased in concrete.
Repair costs have not been tabulated, Junker said.
Repairs were completed Wednesday, but because the line rupture caused low or no water pressure in some areas, officials said the boil water advisory is needed as water quality in the affected area is monitored for contaminants.
The advisory includes about 3,500 residents in parts of Penn Township, Jeannette, Penn Borough, Manor, portions of North Huntingdon, the villages of Biddle, Wegley and Westmoreland City, Irwin, Adamsburg and surrounding areas.
