Philadelphia officials: Bottled water advised 'out of abundance of caution' after chemical spill - FOX 29 Philadelphia

Philadelphia officials: Bottled water advised 'out of abundance of caution' after Bucks County chemical spill

PHILADELPHIA - No contamination has been found in Philadelphia water after a chemical spilled into the Delaware River, according to the Philadelphia Water Department. However, officials are telling residents they may want to drink to bottled water "out of an abundance of caution."

Officials say a latex product released contaminants after spilling along a Delaware River tributary in Bristol Township, Bucks County, Friday night.

Despite the spill, testing at the Baxter Drinking Water Treatment Plant revealed no contaminates in the Philadelphia water system, officials said during a press conference Sunday morning.

"At approximately 12:15 a.m. this morning, the intakes at the Baxter Drinking Water Treatment Plant were opened at high tide on the Delaware River and closed at approximately 5 a.m. This was done to maintain minimum levels of water in the system to avoid any damage to our equipment to continue supplying water for including fire safety and other needs," said Mike Carroll, Deputy Managing Director for the City’s Office of Transportation, Infrastructure and Sustainability.

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Although they expect no risk before Sunday afternoon, officials are notifying residents in the affected area that they may not want to switch from tap water to bottled water for the time being.

"Nonetheless, because we cannot be 100 percent sure that there won’t be traces of these chemicals in the tap water throughout the afternoon, we want the public to be aware so that people can consider switching to bottled water to further minimize any risk," Carroll said.

Officials reiterated that health risks in connection to the spill are "very low, if present at all," including skin concerns, fire hazard, washing and bathing.

"Again, this advisory is being issued out of an abundance of caution to prevent any theoretical, long-term public health impacts."