Boil water advisory lifted in Ephrata area

A boil water advisory for customers of the Ephrata Area Joint Authority has been lifted Saturday morning following over two days of the advisory being in effect. 

According to the Ephrata Area Joint Authority, two water samples taken Thursday and Friday were approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. 

Ephrata Borough officials said residents can now resume normal use of tap water. 

On Wednesday night authority officials  advised its nearly 9,400 customers in Ephrata Borough and Clay and Ephrata townships to boil their water following a positive “tier 2” test result on a bacteria sample. Borough officials said the advisory was the result of a positive E. coli test. Two days of samples testing negative meets the requirements for lifting the advisory based on Pennsylvania DEP guidelines. 

The Ephrata Area Joint Authority produces more than 700 million gallons of water annually, about one-third from the Cocalico Creek and the rest from groundwater wells. Water from the creek is treated at the Church Street filtration plant in Ephrata Borough that was built in 1932 and upgraded in 1985.