Tap water from the Baxter Drinking Water Treatment Plant will remain safe to drink and use at least through 11:59 p.m. Monday, March 27, 2023.

PHILADELPHIA – City officials announced an update to the public on the City’s response to a chemical spill on the Delaware River at a virtual press briefing on Sunday, March 26, 2023 at 5:15 p.m. 

Based on updated hydraulic modeling and the latest sampling results and data, the Philadelphia Water Department (PWD) is confident tap water from the Baxter Drinking Water Treatment Plant will remain safe to drink and use at least through 11:59 p.m. Monday, March 27, 2023. There is no need to buy and use bottled water at this time. Customers can fill bottles or pitchers with tap water with no risk.

This update is based on the time it will take river water that entered the Baxter intakes early Sunday morning to move through treatment and water mains before reaching customers. The water that is currently available to customers was treated before the spill reached Philadelphia. Furthermore, water samples at the water intake so far have not shown impacts from the chemical spill.  

PWD has been monitoring a spill of a latex product that occurred along a Delaware River tributary in Bristol Township, Bucks County, shortly before midnight on Friday, March 24, 2023. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) reported the incident to the Delaware Valley Early Warning System to alert water users in the Delaware River and responded to the scene with the U.S. Coast Guard and local authorities.

This spill had the potential to affect all water provided by the Baxter Water Treatment Plant, which is the only plant of the city’s three plants withdrawing from the Delaware River. An earlier advisory issued at 10 a.m. on Sunday, March 26, 2023, alerted the city that customers receiving water from the Baxter Drinking Water Treatment Plant consider switching to bottled water to minimize any risk out of an abundance of caution. Further testing has not shown the presence of chemicals from the spill in the Baxter water system at this time.

Guidance for the General Public

Tap water from the Baxter Drinking Water Treatment Plant will remain safe to drink and use at least through 11:59 p.m. Monday, March 27, 2023. The water that is currently available to customers was treated before the spill reached Philadelphia and remains safe to drink. There is no need to buy bottled water at this time.

Customers can fill bottles or pitchers with tap water with no risk. 

A map highlighting the impacted area served by the Baxter plant is available here. 

Event Details 

The spill occurred at an industrial site approximately 13 miles north of PWD drinking water facilities on the Delaware River, allowing Philadelphia to control intakes during the period when the spill would have been expected to reach our jurisdiction. Water utilities in Bucks County and New Jersey have also been alerted.

The product spilled is used in making products such as headlight covers. The primary substances that water utilities are testing for as a precaution to protect public health are butyl acrylate, ethyl acrylate and methyl methacrylate.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) reported the incident to the Delaware Valley Early Warning System to alert water users in the Delaware River and responded to the scene with local authorities. As a precaution PWD:

  • immediately began monitoring the river,
  • temporarily shut intakes to Philadelphia’s Baxter Drinking Water Treatment Plant out of an abundance of caution as PWD continues to monitor the situation,
  • and is working with the PA DEP and other utilities to test and ensure safe water.

At approximately 12:15 a.m. this morning, Sunday, March 26, 2023, 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. Contaminants have not been found in PWD’s water system at this time. Tap water from the Baxter Drinking Water Treatment Plant will remain safe to drink and use at least through 11:59 p.m. Monday, March 27, 2023.

The Philadelphia Water Department’s Tidal Spill Model Tool is being used to track contaminant plume movement and inform when the chemical spill will no longer impact the Philadelphia drinking water intakes.

Stay Informed

  • Any drinking water quality incident requiring public notification would be announced through ReadyPhiladelphia notifications and the Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management. PWD has been monitoring the incident since being alerted and is using computer models to monitor the flow of the spill.
  • To get alerts about drinking water quality, sign up for ReadyPhiladelphia by texting READYPHILA to 888-777 for free phone alerts or customize free text and email alerts by visiting the Office of Emergency Management’s website at www.phila.gov/ready.
  • For official updates from the City, follow @PhilaOEM on Twitter or Facebook.
  • Other City Twitter accounts to follow for information: @PhiladelphiaGov and @PhillyH2O.

Resources for Media

  • A recording of the City of Philadelphia’s Facebook live streaming from Sunday, March 26 at 5:15 p.m. is available here.
  • A recording of the OEM’s Facebook live streaming from Sunday, March 26 at 10:30 a.m. is available here.
  • A map of the areas served by the Baxter Water Treatment Plant is available here.
  • Visit phila.gov for the latest announcements.
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