Philadelphia Officials Issue Emergency Alert to Residents to Drink Bottled Water After Chemical Spill

By Jack Phillips March 26, 2023

The city of Philadelphia issued an advisory to locals on March 26 that they should drink bottled water “out of caution” following a chemical spill in the nearby Delaware River.

On Twitter, the city wrote that it’s currently “responding to a spill of a latex product that occurred along a Delaware River tributary” and that “more information will be provided as it becomes available.” As of March 26, it wrote that “no contaminants” were discovered in the city’s tap water and that any potential contaminants would most likely be found at the Baxter Drinking Water Treatment Plant.

“Out of an abundance of caution, residents in the impacted areas may want to switch to bottled water,” the city of Philadelphia stated.

Authorities pointed to a map, titled “Delaware River Latex Spill Map,” that showed districts in Philadelphia that may have been “potentially impacted” by the spill as of March 26. That included much of the city’s border along the Delaware River.

“As has been reported, on [March 24] a chemical spill occurred in Bristol Township, Bucks County, which released contaminants into the Delaware River,” Mike Carroll, the city’s deputy managing director for transportation. The Philadelphia Water Department (PWD) became aware of this through the Delaware Valley Early Warning System (EWS) and has been evaluating the situation since that time to understand potential impacts to the public. Although early indications have not revealed contamination, we are still monitoring the situation and conducting testing.”

This spill will potentially affect water treated at the Baxter Drinking Water Treatment Plant. Residents can find out if they live in an impacted area here: https://t.co/gIpeKRUptT

— Philadelphia Water (@PhillyH2O) March 26, 2023

Residents also told CNN and other media outlets that they received cellphone push emergency alerts about the chemical spill and an advisory to drink bottled water. The alert stated that the advisory will last “until further notice for all Phila Water Department customers” and that “contaminants have not been found in the system at this time but this is out of caution due to a spill in the Delaware River.”

The release of chemicals into the Delaware River occurred on March 24 in Bristol Township in Bucks County after more than 8,000 gallons of latex poured into Otter Creek, which runs into the river, according to the U.S. Coast Guard, which stated that it’s helping with the cleanup.