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Water From Detroit Is Safe, No Need For Additional Testing, Says Spokesman

DETROIT (WWJ) - Detroit water officials say there are no concerns with the water that comes from Lake Huron. A spokesman with the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department says they don't need to test their water, and that the water is safe to drink.

A handful of communities in southern Monroe County, on the northern side of the Michigan/Ohio state line, have been impacted by Saturday's water emergency issued in Toledo, as they are also serviced by the Toledo Water system.

More than 30,000 people in Luna Pier, Bedford, LaSalle and Erie townships have been affected by the water ban. The situation is being monitored.

FIND A FILLING STATION [PDF]

Authorities in Toledo issued an alert around 2 a.m. Saturday, warning residents not to consume any of its water after tests revealed the presence of a toxin possibly related to algae on Lake Erie. The warning applies to about 400,000 people in the area. By the afternoon, Ohio's governor had declared a state of emergency.

"Crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy," said an exasperated Roger Bacom, 75, of Erie, Ohio, who said he showered and drank the water for about a day before knowing of water ban.

"It's a mess, especially when there doesn't seem to be a solution to it," said Wilbert Brown of Toledo.

Brown was stocking up on water at a Kroger store in Monroe.

Carol Perry of Ohio drove to the fire station at Luna Pier after a second day without water and told WWJ's Sandra McNeill that she misses being able to do her dishes.

"It's been difficult, I went to a gas station yesterday morning about 6 o'clock, my husband is diabetic, I have pneumonia and I paid $23 dollars for a case of water, he said, 'oh well, supply and demand,'" said Perry.

Meanwhile, the mayor of Toledo, Ohio, is telling residents that more tests must be done to ensure toxins are out of the city's water supply.

Mayor D. Michael Collins said Sunday that the 400,000 people in the region need to avoid drinking tap water for a second day. But he says samples show the level of toxins appears to have decreased. The governor has ordered Ohio's National Guard to deliver pallets of bottled water and water purification systems to residents in three counties.

Collins says the National Guard is bringing in drinking water for residents and told residents that, " we are all in this together."

"We have water coming out of Columbus, we have water coming out of Delaware, we have water coming out of Cincinnati and we have water coming out of Akron," he said. "We also have pre-mixed formula ...we have MRI's ... those are the military meals.

Residents are being told NOT to drink their tap water for a second day -- because of toxins in the water caused by algae in Lake Erie. Mark Hammond is the Director of Monroe County Emergency Management.

Dying algae is something we have had over the years - it's never gotten to this level - so we are very concerned about that, we're going to be tracking that finding out a way to keep ahead of it if we can," but again we want to get the urgent needs met. We want to get the water levels back down to acceptable and then we'll deal with that algae bloom problem.

Prior to use, residents are encouraged to boil the water. There's also a non-potable filling station at the Luna Pier Fire Station in Luna Pier on Luna Pier Road. Anyone homebound should call 734-243-8600.

There have been no reports of any Monroe county residents getting sick from the water.

TM and © Copyright 2014 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2014 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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