The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has fined the Wilkinsburg-Penn Joint Water Authority $114,000 for not sufficiently disinfecting water delivered to its customers in November.
The fine is the largest the DEP’s Safe Drinking Water Program in the Southwest Region has levied in 20 years, department spokesman John Poister said.
According to the DEP, the authority failed at least 15 times that month to maintain a minimum disinfectant concentration in the water entering the distribution system. The authority also didn’t notify the department within one hour or its customers within 24 hours. The DEP said both were violations of safe drinking water regulations.
Mr. Poister said no illnesses or customer complaints were reported. Though the water was being disinfected, it was not up to DEP standards, he noted.
The authority said the violations occurred because its certified water treatment officials didn’t know they were required to maintain the minimum disinfectant concentration, the DEP said in a news release. The authority will provide 15 hours of disinfection training to its nine officials by Feb. 28, the DEP said.
A representative from the authority did not return a message.
The authority serves about 120,000 individuals, the DEP said.
First Published: October 24, 2014, 4:18 p.m.
Updated: October 25, 2014, 3:51 a.m.