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A mandatory water conservation notice for Pennsylvania-American Water Co. customers has now been lifted.

However, the state Department of Environmental Protection is urging homes and businesses connected to PAWC to boil water before drinking it until further notice.

Power outages caused by Friday and Saturday's heavy snowfall shut down a PAWC pumping station.

. . .

Although the water company is operating normally again, the service disruption may have caused bacteria to enter the lines, says Helen Humphreys, DEP spokeswoman.

The boil-water notice is a precautionary measure, she says, and DEP will review lab analysis from the affected systems to ensure the water is safe.

PAWC serves many communities in the Mon-Yough area. Homes connected to Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County in the city, Port Vue and White Oak were not affected.

However, some MAWC customers also lost water pressure when power failed at a pumping station in Murrysville. Those customers have also been advised to boil their drinking water before using it as a precautionary measure.

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Power is being restored in many areas, a Duquesne Light spokesman said today. As of Sunday morning, 12,000 homes and businesses Allegheny County remained without service.

At the peak of local outages, 57,000 customers were in the dark. Hazardous road conditions were hampering efforts to restore electricity, the company said.

About six dozen lineworkers from outside Duquesne Light were brought into the county to help with the cleanup.

The company said the majority of customers should have power by 12 a.m. Monday, while all remaining outages should be cleared no later than Wednesday.

However, new outages are also occurring as snow-heavy tree limbs snap and break utility lines, Duquesne Light said. Mon-Yough area residents who are served by Duquesne Light and are still without power should call 1-888-393-7000.

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Meanwhile, Port Authority of Allegheny County has restored limited bus service to a number of McKeesport-area routes, but many are running at erratic schedules due to road conditions, a spokesman said Sunday afternoon.

Mon-Yough routes operating limited schedules include:

• 46G Elizabeth (but buses are not serving Worthington Avenue or upper Clairton),


• 56C McKeesport via Lincoln Place (but buses are bypassing Hays),


• 61A East Pittsburgh-Wilkinsburg, 61B Braddock-Swissvale,


• 61C McKeesport via Homestead (this route is bypassing Mifflin Estates and Century Square),


• 67A Monroeville and


• 67F Trafford.

Riders attempting to use those buses should be prepared to make their way to a main road and to "flag down" drivers, because bus stop signs and shelters may be buried under snow, the authority said.

The transit agency is posting updates on its website.

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Somewhat ironically, other disruptions in the Mon-Yough area include the closure of the skiing and snowtubing areas at Allegheny County's Boyce Park in Monroeville.

The ice-skating rink at South Park is also closed.

. . .

Observers for the National Weather Service said the official measurement of 11.4 inches of snow Friday, made at Pittsburgh International Airport in Moon Township, broke a record for that date set in 1899.

Another 9.7 inches fell Saturday, breaking another record for that date, set in 1911.

Locally, official weather spotters for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers measured 24 inches of snow on the ground Sunday morning at Elizabeth and 13 inches at Charleroi.

. . .

Winter is not done with southwestern Pennsylvania yet --- the NWS at Pittsburgh has issued a storm watch for Tuesday and Wednesday.

A storm system heading this way could bring another six inches of snow on those days, forecasters said.

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