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'Our water is safe': Elyria water tested following East Palestine train derailment

“With many questions and concerns being raised due to the train derailment in East Palestine, I felt it was important to test our water as well"

ELYRIA, Ohio — One month after the train derailment in East Palestine, a Northeast Ohio town has tested its water and is letting residents know it is safe to drink.

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After a request from Elyria Mayor Frank Whitfield, the Elyria Water Plant staff took water samples to review. According to officials, all of the samples returned to the city were negative for any chemicals detected. 

“With many questions and concerns being raised due to the train derailment in East Palestine, I felt it was important to test our water as well," said Mayor Whitfield. Residents have expressed concerns and I felt it was important to do the extra testing to get residents an answer. Lab testing results can now put concerns of the community to rest. Our water is safe."

The Elyria Water Plant staff took the water samples from the untreated Lake Erie Water and the treated drinking water. The chemicals that were tested for was based on the information at the time related to the train derailment in East Palestine. 

All of the samples were shipped to be analyzed on Monday, Feb. 20, but due to the high volume of samples being sent from all over Ohio, the samples took longer than expected to be analyzed. 

The results of the samples were reported back on Thursday, March 2, and came back as no chemicals were detected in the samples.

   

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