CIRS Mold Toxicity Treatment in Pittsburgh, PA

More than 90,000 Pennsylvania American Water customers are under a boil water notice as of Saturday morning.

According to PAW, an early-morning power surge depleted water storage at the tank near the Aldrich Water Treatment Plant in Elrama.

This also results in a loss of water pressure within the distribution system, and that could lead to contamination entering the system through backflow or back siphonage.

A Pennsylvania American Water spokesperson later confirmed to KDKA-TV that the boil advisory was the result of a water main break in Elrama, Washington County, on Friday night. The boil water advisory applies to customers in both Allegheny and Washington counties.

Pennsylvania American Water said that normal electrical service has been restored, and they are collecting and analyzing water samples for further testing.

"According to Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection guidelines, water samples must be collected to test for bacteria in the distribution system. The first samples are taken on the day when the issue has been corrected, and then another set of samples is taken in the next 24 hours," the spokesperson said.

Two consecutive days of clean test results are required before DEP will allow the advisory to be lifted. The process takes 18 to 24 hours for test results to come back from the laboratory, so final lab results to lift an advisory can take several days after the initial event.

Customers can enter their address and view a map to see if they're affected by this advisory at this link.

Under a boil water advisory, you are asked to bring all water to a rolling boil and let it boil for one minute. This includes all water, including water for drinking, making ice, washing dishes, brushing teeth, and food preparation.

Contaminated water can cause bacterial, viral, and parasitic infections, which can lead to nausea, cramps, diarrhea, and other ailments.

More information can be found on Pennsylvania American Water's website at this link or by calling their customer service center at 800-565-7292.

In:

A boil-water advisory is in effect until further notice for 95,000 Pennsylvania American Water customers in parts of Allegheny and Washington counties.

Company officials on Saturday said a power surge near a treatment plant led to the issue.

Early Saturday, “a power surge caused a depletion of water storage at a tank near the Aldrich Water Treatment Plant in Elrama, Washington County, resulting in loss of positive pressure within our distribution system,” the utility said in a news release. “A loss of positive water pressure is a signal of the existence of conditions that could allow contamination to enter the distribution system through backflow by back-pressure or back-siphonage.”

Pennsylvania American Water is advising customers in the following areas in Allegheny County to boil water before drinking it, making ice, washing dishes, brushing teeth, or preparing food: Bethel Park, Bridgeville, Clairton, Dravosburg, Elizabeth Township, Elizabeth Borough, Glassport, Jefferson Hills Borough, Liberty, Lincoln, North Fayette, South Fayette, South Park, Upper St. Clair and West Elizabeth.

In Washington County: Amwell, Buffalo, Canonsburg, Canton, Carroll Township, Cecil Township, Chartiers, Washington (city), Claysville, Cross Creek, Donegal Township, East Washington, Fallowfield, Finleyville, Forward Township, Green Hills Borough, Houston, Jefferson, Monongahela, Mount Pleasant, New Eagle, North Franklin, North Strabane, Nottingham, Peters Township, Somerset Township, South Franklin, South Strabane, Union Township and West Middletown.

Customers can determine whether their addresses fall under the advisory at tinyurl.com/pawadvisory.

Company officials said water should be brought “to a rolling boil, let it boil for one minute and cool before using” or substituted out for bottled water.

Inadequately treated water, they cautioned, could contain disease-causing organisms including bacteria, viruses and parasites, resulting in symptoms such as nausea, cramps, diarrhea and associated headaches. Anyone experiencing those symptoms on a persistent basis should seek medical attention.

Infants, young children, pregnant women, the elderly, and people with severely compromised immune systems face higher risk. General guidelines on ways to lessen the risk of infection by microbes are available from EPA’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791.

Normal electrical service has been restored and the utility company is in the process of collecting and analyzing water quality samples. Repairs were expected to take about 20 hours.

“We will inform you when the corrective actions have been completed and you no longer need to boil your water,” the company said in its statement.

For more information, visit pennsylvaniaamwater.com and select “alerts” or contact Pennsylvania American Water’s customer service center at 800-565-7292.

First Published: February 7, 2026, 6:04 a.m. Updated: February 7, 2026, 6:20 p.m.

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Join Sustainable Pittsburgh for a February 3 webinar

This timely webinar examines the rapid growth of AI data centers and what it means for energy systems, communities, and our environment.

As demand for artificial intelligence accelerates, data centers are expanding across the country.

They bring economic opportunity alongside significant electricity use, water demand, and infrastructure impacts. For regions like Pennsylvania, these facilities raise important questions about grid reliability, land use, emissions, and long-term sustainability.

This session will explore how data centers operate, the scale of their environmental footprint, and the policy tools available to guide development in more energy-efficient and climate-aligned ways.

Speakers will share examples from across the country, discuss emerging approaches to clean energy procurement and efficiency, and examine the role of state and local decision-makers, utilities, businesses, and advocates.

We’ll also consider how thoughtful planning today can support economic competitiveness while advancing environmental responsibility tomorrow.

Click Here to register and for more information.

Visit the Sustainable Pittsburgh website for more information on initiatives, programs and upcoming events.

Related Articles This Week:

-- House Energy Committee To Consider Bill Giving PUC More Authority To Regulate A.I. Data Centers Jan. 26; Hearings On Related Bills Jan. 26 and Feb. 2 [PaEN]

-- Utility Dive: PJM Updates 20-Year Forecast Of Electricity Demand Growth, Reducing Short Term Growth Estimates By Up To 2.6%, Increasing 2035 Estimate By 3.3% [PaEN]

-- PJM Interconnection: 2025 Year In Review Part III: Planning Prepares For Burgeoning A.I. Data Center Electricity Demand [PaEN]

-- PennTAP Now Accepting Applications For RISE PA Decarbonization Grants For Small, Mid-Sized Manufacturers [PaEN]

-- Sustainable Pittsburgh Hosts Feb. 3 Webinar On A.I. Data Centers - Energy, Infrastructure, Policy Implications [PaEN]

-- ReImagine Appalachia Hosts Feb. 5 Webinar On Catching Heat: Opportunities, Challenges Of Using Waste Heat From A.I. Data Centers [PaEN]

-- Cameron County Chamber Of Commerce To Install Solar Energy Installation At The Artisan & Economic Innovation CenterTo Offset 100% Of Energy Consumption [PaEN]

-- Pennsylvania Solar Center: Jan. 23 Webinar On State Solar For Schools Grants & Free GET Solar Schools Technical Assistance [PaEN]

-- PA Leads The Nation In Constructing Federally Funded Electric Vehicle Charging Stations With 28 Now Open; Deadline For New Applications Jan. 30 [PaEN]

-- Center For Rural Pennsylvania: Number Of Electric Vehicles, EV Charging Stations Per County ]

NewsClips:

-- City & State PA Guest Essay: Your Energy Bill Keeps Rising, Here’s What We Can Do About It - By Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler (D-Philadelphia), Majority Chair, House Energy Committee

-- PUC Approves Rate Increases For Wellsboro Electric (18.1%), Valley Energy-Gas (12.2%), Citizens’ Electric Of Lewisburg (6.8%)

-- Marcellus Drilling News: US EIA Predicts Price Of Natural Gas To Dip 2% In 2026, Increase 33% In 2027 Driven By LNG Gas Exports [PDF of Article]

-- Marcellus Drilling News: Expand Energy CEO: Natural Gas Drillers Won’t Add New Production At $3.50 Gas Price-- $4.00 to $4.50 Is Needed To ‘Activate Supply Growth’ [PDF of Article]

-- Spotlight PA: Many PA Residents Don’t Want A.I. Data Centers In Their Communities; PA State Leaders Are Welcoming Them

-- Wilkes-Barre Times-Leader: Dallas Twp. , Luzerne County Residents Fill Public Hearing Space In Support Of A.I. Data Center Zoning Ordinance Limiting Centers To Industrial Zones

-- WITF: Republican Candidate For Governor Stacy Garrity Says ‘A Lot Of Areas’ In Rural PA Could House Data Centers For A.I. Growth

-- Scranton Times - Chris Kelly Opinion: A.I. Data Centers Call For Hawks, Not Canaries [PDF of Article]

-- Scranton Times - Chris Kelly Opinion: DEP Hearing Exposes Gravity Of The ‘Comically Speculative Nature’ Of A.I. Data Center Development [PDF of Article]

-- Capital & Main - Audrey Carleton: Will Homer City, An Old Pennsylvania Coal Town, Get A Reboot From 3,200 Acre A.I. Data Center Campus?

-- TribLive: TECfusions Announces First Tenant In Upper Burrell Twp. A.I. Data Center In Allegheny County; 10 MW Needed, Scaling Up To 1 GW

-- AP: Microsoft Pushes Big Tech To ‘Pay Our Way’ For A.I. Data Centers Amid Rising Opposition [PA Highlighted]

-- Talen Energy Buys 3 Natural Gas Power Plants In Ohio, Indiana To Service Growing Data Center Demand

-- Wall Street Journal: America’s Biggest Power Grid Operator [PJM] Has An A.I. Program - Too Many Data Centers Threaten To Max Out Generation Capacity, Rate Increases Anger Consumers [PDF of Article]

-- Public News Service: Clean Energy Boom Adding Much-Needed Electric Generating Capacity To Grid In PA Threatened As Federal Funding Stalls

-- Post-Gazette - Anya Litvak: EOS Energy Storage Company Calls A.I. Data Centers An ‘Accelerant’ For Company’s Batteries

-- Utility Dive: US Senate Bill Would Exempt Fully Isolated A.I. Data Centers, Other Large Loads From FERC, DOE Regulation

-- AP: US Carbon Pollution Rose In 2025, Experts Blame Cold Weather, High Natural Gas Prices, Data Centers

-- Post-Gazette: Sen. McCormick Says He Will Recuse Himself From Issues Specific To Facebook/Meta With His Wife’s New Role As Meta President

[Posted: January 16, 2026] PA Environment Digest

PITTSBURGH, PA — A former player at a Pittsburgh-area university was one of 20 people indicted Thursday on charges related to fixing college basketball games in the U.S. and professional basketball games in China.

Fifteen of the people named in the 70-page indictment were basketball players; the other five were "fixers" who set up the rigging of games by paying the players between $10,000 and $30,000 per game fixed.

Court papers unsealed Thursday revealed charges of bribery, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and aiding and abetting.

Former Robert Morris basketball player Markeese Hastings' play in two games in noted in the indictment. It states that Hastings and two other players underperformed in and influenced the first half of a game against Northern Kentucky in 2024.

The fixers placed bets with various sportsbooks totaling at least $256,000 on Northern Kentucky to cover the first-half spread, the indictment says.

"Without Robert Morris players intentionally underperforming in the second half of the game, Robert Morris played substantially better, with Robert Morris outscoring Northern Kentucky 37 to 29," the indictment states.

The other two Robert Morris players were not named in the court document.

In the second game, Robert Morris played Purdue University Fort Wayne in a postseason game in the first round of the Horizon League Basketball Championships at the Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Indiana, according to the indictment. The fixers allegedly placed wagers totaling at least $50,000 on Purdue F.W. to cover the first-half spread.

Hastings and the other two players allegedly underperformed in the game’s first half, influencing the game so that Purdue would outscore RMU 46-28. The fixers subsequently won their bets.

The indictment also noted that two games involving Duquesne University allegedly were impacted by the scheme, but no Duquesne players were involved. Those games involved players from St. Louis University and Fordham University.

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania – Scattered snow showers are moving across the Pittsburgh area early Thursday morning, leaving a coating of snow on untreated roads and surfaces and creating hazardous travel conditions for commuters, according to the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh.

A 5 a.m. radar update shows snow showers affecting much of western Pennsylvania, including the Pittsburgh metro area, with light accumulations occurring primarily on bridges, overpasses, and secondary roads. While snowfall amounts are expected to remain minor, the timing during the morning commute increases the risk for slick spots and reduced traction.

The National Weather Service warns that untreated surfaces may quickly become snow-covered, particularly where temperatures remain cold enough to prevent melting. Drivers are urged to slow down, increase following distances, and allow extra travel time during the morning hours.

Road conditions may vary significantly over short distances, as snow showers are scattered rather than continuous. Some locations may experience brief bursts of snow that temporarily reduce visibility and road grip before tapering off.

Temperatures early this morning remain cold enough for snow to stick, especially on elevated surfaces. As traffic increases, conditions may improve on main roadways, but caution is advised throughout the commute period.

No significant additional snowfall amounts are expected at this time, but even light snow can cause accidents when road temperatures are near or below freezing.

Residents are encouraged to monitor local traffic conditions and weather updates through the morning. Employers and schools may see delays tied to localized travel issues.

Commuters, delivery drivers, and early-shift workers in the Pittsburgh area should be prepared for slick and variable driving conditions through the morning hours.