Aqua draws crews from across Pennsylvania to restore service to Shenandoah area
SHENANDOAH – Aqua Pennsylvania says they have crews from across the Commonwealth in the heart of the anthracite working to restore water to the valley at this hour.
“These men and women are working diligently to resolve the issue in Shenandoah and the broader service territory to return normal water service to our customers as soon as possible,” Aqua said in a statement. “Our top priority is always our customers, and we are committed to providing them with regular updates about this situation.”
Shenandoah and the surrounding valley, including Lost Creek, William Penn, and Shenandoah Heights, have had little-to-no water service for much of the week thus far.
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Aqua — which took over the Municipal Authority of the Borough of Shenandoah system in 2023 — said they have been working to find the cause of the disruption and make repairs since. Those efforts, they say, remain underway.
“The extreme cold this winter has resulted in conditions across the Shenandoah service area that have stressed the existing water system,” Aqua says. “The stress manifested in numerous main breaks, frozen pipes, and challenges at the water treatment plant.”
Those challenges have arisen in dramatic fashion in the past few weeks, with widespread reports of discolored water and, now, low water pressure or no service at all.
Aqua says they have remained in frequent contact with borough leadership, which declared a local disaster emergency Tuesday, and said “it’s important to keep open lines of communication.”
Since taking over the MABS system, the Bryn Mawr-based company says they invested $8.5 Million in repairs to the system.
“But more needs to be done given the poor condition of the system when purchased,” Aqua said. “We remain dedicated to making those improvements to the system so that we can provide high quality service to our customers for years to come.”
The system is a more-than century old amalgamation of former water companies in town, the Girard Water Co. and the Citizens Water Co. Those two companies merged along with the Shenandoah Borough Water Works to form the Municipal Authority of the Borough of Shenandoah in the 1940’s.
It was sold in 2023 to Aqua Pennsylvania, one of the largest private water and wastewater utilities in the country.
As the water issues persist, the Shenandoah Valley School District moved to virtual asynchronous instruction Wednesday and Aqua has a water tanker set up to provide potable water at Shenandoah Borough Hall.
In addition, an Ashland business is offering Shenandoah area residents free water.
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