PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — There has been a run on bottled water at stores in the Philadelphia area since city officials suggested on Sunday, out of an abundance of caution, that residents may wish to buy clean water while the Water Department awaited results from tests of the water supply after a chemical spill into a Delaware River tributary upriver in Bucks County.
Officials in the Philadelphia Water Department and the city’s Office of Transportation, Infrastructure and Sustainability gave another all-clear on Monday, saying that ongoing testing has shown the city’s water supply to be uncontaminated and safe.
Since officials put out the alert on Sunday, businesses in the city had been uncertain if they would be able to serve customers if the water supply was determined to be compromised.
Andrew Engle, who manages La Colombe Coffee Roasters in Rittenhouse Plaza, closed up shop on Sunday.
“So we shut down right around 3 p.m., when we got that information — and we reopened [Monday] morning, kind of, with the guidance that the water’s safe to consume up until midnight.”
Anne Nadol, of the Department of Commerce, said Monday that local businesses and events are safe to continue operations, and there's no need for closures or cancellations at this time.
However, in the event that conditions could potentially worsen, community nonprofits such as Share Food Program in Hunting Park are scrambling to get a good supply of bottled water ready for Philadelphians who can’t access it.
“We have several truckloads of water lined up, coming to our warehouse, that are going to be distributed out through our network of pantries, and continuing to work to make sure that nobody, regardless of income, is denied the ability to have water,” said George Matysik, executive director.
Many community feeding programs are trying to make sure that everyone, including the elderly and those who can’t afford it, has ample access to clean drinking water.
Victoria Jayne is a volunteer with South Philadelphia Community Fridge, which is working to obtain water in bulk and distribute it to areas that need it most where people are most vulnerable.
“We're an all-volunteer organization, and disaster response is not something that we've ever done before,” Jayne said. “So we're kind of learning as we go along, because we're seeing that there's a vacuum of resources.”
Philabundance issued a written statement: “As the city of Philadelphia faces a potential issue with its water supply, Philabundance is working to source and gather water from suppliers and our Feeding America food bank partners. Our team will distribute this water to our local community pantry network in the impacted areas to give out to people in the coming days.
“Additionally, Philabundance is working with local officials and is prepared to help and support their plan of action during this situation.”
Stay informed
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—For official updates from the city, follow @PhilaOEM on Twitter or Facebook.
—Other city Twitter accounts to follow for information: @PhiladelphiaGov and @PhillyH2O