As MoreThanTheCurve.com reported on September 2nd, Aqua Pennsylvania has had to shut down its Pickering East and West water treatment plants due to heavy rainfall, flooding and loss of power caused by the remnants of Hurricane Ida.

Aqua Pennsylvania is now asking customers throughout its southeastern Pennsylvania service area (Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery counties) to discontinue nonessential water use until further notice as it works to restore normal operations at the two treatment centers. Everyone is asked to take shorter showers, don’t run lawn sprinklers, and minimize the use of washers and dishwashers.

Aqua Pennsylvania reports that it has successfully returned a portion of the Pickering East plant online, but as the floodwaters subsided it was able to assess the extent of damage, which is greater than previously thought. It is expected to “take some time” for a full recovery to take place.