February 25, 2025: Customers in Abington and Cheltenham Townships and Jenkintown Borough

Aqua Pennsylvania continues to monitor the situation following the fire at SPS Technologies in Jenkintown, Montgomery County. All Aqua Pennsylvania customers in Abington and Cheltenham Townships and Jenkintown Borough can be assured their water is safe to drink. Continued tests have shown our drinking water quality meets all standards. However, we understand that some of you may still have concerns, and we take those concerns seriously. So, we want to take this time to address three concerns that have come up since last week’s fire.  

First, the waterways impacted by the firefighting efforts are not used by Aqua to provide drinking water to our neighbors in Abington and Cheltenham Townships and Jenkintown Borough. Your water comes from a source several miles away from the fire scene. No firefighting runoff entered your source water. 

Second, some customers may have noticed their water appears slightly cloudy. The pipes in the streets that deliver drinking water to your homes are the same pipes that service the fire hydrants used to battle the warehouse fire. The prolonged, intense movement of water in the pipes can lead to cloudiness in the drinking water, usually from entrained air. Again, please know, your water is safe to drink.  

Finally, you may have noticed your drinking water has a slightly salty taste. This is not related to the fire. This change is largely attributed to the runoff of road salts used on roadways, parking lots, and other treated surfaces in response to recent winter storms and icing conditions. Road salts are typically made up of a combination of sodium, chloride and calcium, all of which are naturally occurring and can be found in drinking water on any given day. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) have secondary standard for chloride, however secondary standards are not considered to have any public health risks. The issue is further exacerbated from low stream flow from the persistent drought which has the effect of limiting dilution of the chloride concentrations. 

Aqua continues to collect water samples and perform tests to ensure safe, reliable drinking water for you and your family.  

If you have any questions about water quality at your home or business, please call 877.987.2782. 

February 21, 2025: Cloudy Water Alert:

Aqua Pennsylvania continues to monitor the situation in Abington Township following the fire at SPS Technologies in Jenkintown. We are aware that some customers may have noticed their water appears slightly cloudy. Please know, the water is safe to drink. The pipes in the streets that deliver drinking water to our customers’ homes are the same pipes that service the fire hydrants used to battle the warehouse fire. The prolonged, intense movement of water used to fight the fire may stir up sediment in the pipes which can lead to cloudiness in the drinking water. This should clear up in a matter of days. We thank our customers for their patience and understanding. 

Keeping Pennsylvania Strong

In 1886, a group of Swarthmore College professors received a charter to supply water to the residents of Springfield Township, Delaware County. Since then, Aqua Pennsylvania has been continuously growing, and now supplies water to approximately 1.5 million people across the Keystone state.

At Aqua Pennsylvania, water quality and continuous service are our highest priorities. We strive every day to listen to our customers and invest in the safest, most up-to-date technology and infrastructure improvements and enhancements that benefit our customers and their daily lives.

It’s our commitment for a better Pennsylvania: by employing the best licensed treatment operators, scientists, engineers and experts, we’re able to surpass federal regulations, increase operational effectiveness and invest in your infrastructure.