BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Erie County Water Authority said it wants to clear up any questions about the local water supply following a fiery train derailment in northeast Ohio.
The ECWA, which provides drinking water to more than 550,000 consumers in 35 municipalities across Western New York, said it wanted to assure people that the Feb. 3 train derailment was not impacting their water here.
"East Palestine’s watershed flows southwest toward the Mississippi River and is geographically isolated from Lake Erie’s watershed, making it impossible for chemical residuals from the derailment to enter our area’s water sources," the ECWA said in a statement.
The ECWA said it felt the need to address speculation that areas such as Western New York would be impacted.
“Due to the increasing rumors, speculation and falsehoods related to the February 3rd Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, the Erie County Water Authority (ECWA) wants its customers to know it is highly improbable that residual chemicals or toxins from the derailed train have navigated to ECWA water sources, including Lake Erie and the Niagara River," it said.
The ECWA added: “In the age of social media, misleading claims and falsehoods can spread instantly causing unnecessary public concern. That is occurring in relation to this unfortunate accident, but ECWA customers can rest assured that their drinking water is very safe and of high quality.”
The New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, Department of Environmental Conservation, and Department of Health also said they're monitoring the impact of the Ohio train derailment.
The state "continually prepares for a wide variety of emergencies in New York State and is well equipped to coordinate the response of our State agencies in support of impacted local governments," the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services said in a statement.
"In addition to regularly preparing for this specific type of incident, DHSES has highly-trained personnel within its Office of Fire Prevention and Control (OFPC) and Office of Emergency Management (OEM) experienced in both disaster response and hazardous materials response, and maintains contacts with key transportation and environmental stakeholders."
The most recent train derailment in Western New York happened in the village of East Aurora in May of 2020.
Police evacuated 41 homes from the area as a precaution after 15 of the train's 98 rail cars, including the train's engine, came off the tracks in the area of Elm Street and Main Street, according to police.
The only hazardous material released by the freight train in that incident was some diesel fluid from the engine.