Elk County, PA — Eric Poague, chairman of the Johnsonburg Municipal Authority told 6News that Johnsonburg does not have issues with water contamination. The Department of Environmental Protection also told 6News that there is no reason for residents to be in fear of contamination.

According to Poague, the municipal authority has never been fined by the Environmental Protection Agency for contaminated water.

We contacted the EPA and they did confirm that there are no recent actions pertaining to Johnsonburg's water.

Poague also told us that the authority is building a new $12 million water plant. This water plant will include new tanks and new distribution lines for residents. The authority says the plant will be online in about 18 months.

Tom Decker with the Department of Environmental Protection released a statement to us that said, “Johnsonburg had a maximum containment level violation for disinfection byproducts, specifically for HAA5s. While this does not present an immediate acute risk, these haloacetic acid compounds do have an increased risk of cancer if ingested over many years...There is no need for a boiled water advisory and residents aren't being told not to drink the water."

Decker said because of the levels of disinfection byproducts; the authority was required to send out a notice to their residents.

The DEP says they will continue to sample Johnsonburg's water on a quarterly basis which they will be monitoring closely.

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