After a week of living under a boil-water advisory, Greenville Municipal Authority customers are asked to keep conserving and keep boiling - for just a little longer.

A rental pump is still plugging away, providing Greenville and part of Hempfield Township with water as work crews try to figure out what went wrong with the borough's water pump.

Earlier in the week, debris from the Shenango River clogged the filtration system, causing a systemwide water emergency. A worker at the filtration plant said Friday afternoon that screens had been installed to help keep debris from being sucked back into the rental pump.

A new, permanent water pump, which cost the authority $20,000, functioned for about an hour Wednesday afternoon before it malfunctioned.

"We have engineers, the manufacturers, all sorts of people down there trying to figure it out," said Maria Kerekes, office manager.

Mrs. Kerekes said water levels in the storage tanks continue to rise, and crews hope to get the pump back online soon. She said the authority didn't know when the pump would be back in operation.

Greenville Fire Chief Steve Thompson said the water levels were high enough that he canceled automatic tanker responses to borough fires by West Salem and Hempfield townships volunteer firefighters.

The water authority is in its 14th day of trouble.

The current crisis began when water pumps broke down Oct. 26 and 27. School has been canceled twice, and at one point, fire engines were pumping water into the filtration system.

Water buffaloes, tankers holding 400 gallons of drinking water, have been moved out. Customers should boil for 3 minutes all water they use for drinking, washing fruits or vegetables, brushing teeth or preparing fruit juices or powdered drinks, according to the state Department of Environmental Protection.

You can e-mail Herald Staff Writer Amanda Smith-Teutsch at: ateutsch@sharonherald.com