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No, water sources in central Ohio are not affected by the East Palestine train derailment

“Is my water safe?” And “where does my water come from?” Those are the questions filling social media feeds along with false claims about contaminated water here.

DELAWARE, Ohio — All eyes are on the aftermath of the train derailment in East Palestine and the long-term effects it could have, especially regarding the drinking water.

“The Ohio River is not a water source for us as it is in that area of Ohio,” said Lee Yoakum, community affairs coordinator for the city of Delaware.

Below is a map of the Ohio River basin. The blue marks the river and the green shows the region of land where surface water drains into the river. It's not to show regions that get drinking water from the river.

Credit: 10TV/WBNS

So here in central Ohio, where does our water come from? There are many sources, depending on where you live. Experts here say our drinking water in central Ohio has not been affected.

To verify that, we checked with several utility districts including Marysville, the city of Delaware and Newark.

"We're upstream so it wouldn't flow up to us,” said Roger Loomis, the water administrator for the city of Newark.

He said the Licking River is their source of water.

"We do have several wells up upstream of us for drought conditions that we could turn on it would be groundwater,” he explained.

In the city of Delaware, there are multiple sources of water including the Olentangy River. There's also a series of underground wells.

“We're fortunate that we have multiple sources and we don't have to draw from just one,” Yoakum said.

Our Public Utilities Department has received some questions due to the East Palestine, Ohio train derailment. This area...

Posted by City of Delaware, Ohio - Government on Wednesday, February 15, 2023

And in Marysville, the public service director says 65% is Surface Water from Mill Creek and 35% is groundwater, from wells.

Experts also say having the ability to treat different types of water from different sources provides additional protection during an emergency event.

What's the quickest way to find out where your water comes from? Call your local water company.

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