Ohio Residents Remain Under Do-Not-Drink Advisory - East Idaho News
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Ohio Residents Remain Under Do-Not-Drink Advisory

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Thinkstock 080314 DrinkingWater?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1407088190626iStockphoto/Thinkstock(TOLEDO, Ohio) — Officials in Toledo are awaiting lab results before determining whether the city’s water is safe for residents to use.

On Saturday, a toxin known as microcystin was found in a samples from the water supply, which is used in a number of cities and towns in the area, including a small number of utility customers in Michigan. Experts believe the toxin is the result of an algae bloom on the southern shores of Lake Erie.

Gov. John Kasich declared a state of emergency as about 400,000 residents were told not to consume or boil the water. Scientists have been adding carbon to the water supply to neutralize the toxins, but tests to determine whether the were not expected to be returned until later Sunday at the earliest. Mayor Michael Collins said that samples had been sent to the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Cincinnati office and a state laboratory in Columbus.

There was no time frame given for when the test results could be made public, and the affected customers remain under a do not drink advisory.

The situation in Toledo actually prompted officials in Chicago to order additional tests of their water supply. Results of those tests will be made public in the upcoming days. Because Chicago has a separate water supply from Toledo, the tests were done out of an abundance of caution. Shannon Breymaier, Deputy Communications Director for the city of Chicago says that the city’s water “completely is safe.”


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