NATION : Fuel Slick Perils Water Supply
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PITTSBURGH — A 30-mile fuel slick drifting down the Allegheny River today threatened the drinking water supply for about 1 million people, and some schools were closed to conserve water.
One town of 15,000 people has already had to have water trucked in. Other communities drew water from tributaries to the Allegheny, rather than the river itself, to build up reserves.
The slick resulted from a landslide that broke a pipeline Friday and released 85,000 to 98,000 gallons of gasoline, kerosene and other fuels near Freeport.
Pittsburgh joined with other communities in calling for voluntary conservation of water as it prepared to close its treatment plant. Other treatment centers upstream were already closed.
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