ALERT: Utility/Power Failure on Campus – UPDATE

June 11, 2025 - 11:28 AM

UPDATE: Utility/Power Failure on Campus

Meadville Water Authority is just completing the the main water line repair on the north side of campus and and the water line should be pressurized shortly.

CAUTION FROM THE WATER AUTHORITY: A loss of positive water pressure is a signal of the existence of conditions that could allow contamination to enter the distribution system through back-flow by back‑pressure or back‑siphonage. As a result, there is an increased chance that the water may contain disease-causing organisms.

DO NOT DRINK THE WATER WITHOUT BOILING IT FIRST. Bring all water to a rolling boil, let it boil for one minute, and let it cool before using; or use bottled water. You should use boiled or bottled water for drinking, making ice, washing dishes, brushing teeth, and food preparation until further notice. Inadequately treated water may contain disease-causing organisms. These organisms include bacteria, viruses, and parasites, which can cause symptoms such as nausea, cramps, diarrhea, and associated headaches. These symptoms, however, are not caused only by organisms in drinking water, but also by other factors. If you experience any of these symptoms and they persist, you may want to seek medical advice. Guardians of infants and young children and people at increased risk, such as pregnant women, some of the elderly, and people with severely compromised immune systems, should seek advice from their health care advisors about drinking this water. General guidelines on ways to lessen the risk of infection by microbes are available from EPA’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1 (800) 426‑4791.

The Water Authority will inform local residents when the water is safe to drink. An updated message Emergency Message will be sent from Public Safety.

Students, faculty and staff should monitor e-mail, the college web site, social and local media for updated information and further updates.
Contact Campus Safety in the event of an emergency: 814-332-3357.

More information on Emergency website

Physical Plant

The Physical Plant Department is responsible for the operations and maintenance, renovations, and construction of all buildings, grounds, and utilities of the College. These services are provided to develop and maintain a functional, attractive and safe environment conducive to learning and to support the College’s tradition of excellence. The Department has dedicated, professional staff trained in every principle trade required to provide these services and/or to oversee contracted services that the Department does not directly provide.

Allegheny College is ranked as one of the top national liberal arts colleges in the country and the Physical Plant Department believes in contributing to this end, by providing service in an effective, efficient, and timely manner. The Department’s 34 full-time employees include administrative staff, maintenance staff and grounds staff who maintain 1.2 million square feet in 34 major buildings with 77 acres of central campus, a 203 acre outdoor recreational complex and 24 houses used as student residences.

Learn about the Energy Savings Project

The Allegheny College Physical Plant is proud to help and support all staff and students of the Allegheny Community. We try our hardest to accommodate all requests in a timely and efficient manner.

In recent months the requests for setups and tear downs has been considerable. We have tried to complete them all, however, it is very hard to do this without proper notice. Although we acknowledge that sometimes things do come up, we are implementing a new policy on requests for these types of events. (ie. Chair set up, tables, podiums, etc…) We are asking that you please give us at least 24 hours prior to the time items are needed. If the items are needed for a weekend, please notify us by 2pm the Thursday before. This way we can plan and make sure that we have enough staff and vehicles available to accommodate all the requests, and try to avoid any conflicts or miscommunication.

If we do not receive at least 24 hours prior notice, we cannot guarantee that your requests will be met. We hope that this does not cause any issues for any of you, but that this will make things run more smoothly for all involved. Thank you for your cooperation with this matter.