As part of our editorial workflow, this article was reviewed using the TCO Editorial Prompt AI Style Guide. Human editors always make the final decisions

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The Cleveland Water Department issued a tweet initiated by several inquiries about whether there’s any concern for Cleveland’s water quality following the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.

Your drinking water remains safe.

Cleveland Water gets drinking water from Lake Erie. The Lake and its watershed are separate from the Ohio River and its watershed. There is no indication that Lake Erie or its watershed has been impacted by the train derailment in East Palestine. The testing that is regularly performed would catch any changes to our source water, should any arise.

However, the Ohio river travels from Pittsburgh south to Kentucky through Cincinnati.

Greater Cincinnati Water Works (GCWW) detached the compound upstream and officials have closed the intake. Officials are continuing to monitor the chemical contaminants traveling down the Ohio River following the train derailment in East Palestine.

“We’re doing everything we can to make sure the water is safe,” said Jeff Swertfeger, GCWW superintendent of water quality. “Our intakes are shut down right now. . .to allow that chemical to go by in the river, and then we don’t even bring it into the plant.”

Source:  WLWT Digital Staff and Danielle Dindak

The Cleveland Observer remains committed to producing journalism that is accurate, community-centered, and reflective of Cleveland’s diverse voices. As part of our editorial workflow, this article was reviewed using the TCO Editorial Prompt AI Style Guide, a structured tool that supports clarity, fact-checking standards, community impact framing, sourcing, and overall readability. All recommendations generated by the AI are reviewed, verified, and approved by a human content provider before publication.
Human editors always make the final decisions.

Ron Calhoun is the Founder and President of the Cleveland Observer and a retired IT professional with 15 years of experience. With a strong background in information technology, he is passionate about...