TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — A water ban entered its third day in northwest Ohio on Monday as Toledo's mayor extended the advisory, even as the latest tests suggested the city's tap water was probably safe.
Toledo Mayor D. Michael Collins said early Monday he's keeping in place an advisory against drinking or using the water pending additional tests. The ban has left hundreds of thousands of residents scrambling for water for drinking, cooking and bathing.
Collins said at a 3 a.m. news conference Monday that it was his decision to keep the advisory in place at least into the morning hours, even though latest test results suggest the algae-induced toxin contaminating Lake Erie has probably dissipated to safe levels.
Collins said two tests have come back "too close for comfort." He plans another update Monday morning.
Ohio's fourth-largest city warned residents not to use city water early Saturday after tests at one treatment plant showed readings for microcystin above the standard for consumption, most likely from algae on the lake. The advisory affected more than 400,000 residents in northwestern Ohio and southwestern Michigan. Ohio Gov. John Kasich declared a state of emergency.
Ohio Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur criticized officials for not releasing the test results to the public over the weekend.
She tweeted on Sunday that the state and federal branches of the Environmental Protection Agency "should make public what it knows about Toledo water. The public has a right to know. Transparency is essential."
Worried residents told not to drink, brush their teeth or wash dishes with the water descended on truckloads of bottled water delivered from across the state. The Ohio National Guard was using water purification systems to produce drinkable water.
Some water distribution centers reopened Monday morning.
