SALEM, Ore. — Governor Kate Brown has declared a state of emergency, because of toxins in Salem’s water supply.
Stores in the Salem area are working to keep up with the demand for bottled water.
"I had to go fill up water off my aunt’s well water."
Space Age Fuel Manager Scott Vang said his store was one of many in the area that ran out after the alert came out.
The water advisory is also impacting coffee shops.
A notice was posted at a Salem Starbucks, saying they’re only serving bottled drinks.
"Until I know the water is ok, I’m just not comfortable," said Ang.
No fresh coffee for Salem residents today.
This sign is posted outside the Starbucks off of Lancaster Dr. They’re serving bottled drinks only, because of the water advisory for the area.
@KEZI9 pic.twitter.com/wumikXQb2T — Amber Wilmarth (@amberwilmarth) May 31, 2018

Low levels of toxic algae have been discovered in Salem’s drinking water, prompting officials to issue an advisory that parents should not give tap water to children under 6 years old.
Health officials warned pregnant women, nursing mothers and children under the age of 6 to not drink or cook with tap water.
Three toxic algae blooms discovered in Detroit Lake led to the detection of high concentrations of the liver toxin microcystin and cylindrospermopsin on May 25.
Four days later, the city issued an alert warning of the unsafe drinking water.
If they develop these symptoms, they should let their health care provider know, but, she warned, there are no tests available to screen for exposure and no specific treatment.
"Out of an abundance of caution, we are exercising precautions and only using bottled or filtered water for our patients and families."
Berman said nursing mothers who ingest the toxin could pass it to their infants through their breast milk.
Berman said the toxins might also have an impact on developing fetuses.
10-day exposure period City officials said they wanted to be proactive by warning people within the 10-day exposure window.
Still, he warned, people at risk should not be cavalier about the warning.

Linn and Benton county residents erroneously received a message about contaminated tap water meant for the Salem area on Tuesday night.
Grocery store representatives said that Salem-area residents surged into Linn and Benton counties after Marion County supermarkets and other businesses ran out of bottled water.
Albany and Corvallis locals also stocked up on emergency supplies in the wake of the emergency notice.
Some, such as Juana Francisco of Albany, worried that the local tap water could still be contaminated due to the vague nature of the emergency notification and subsequent clarifications.
She bought seven bottled cases of water at the Albany WinCo, which ran out of most bottled water products at about 9:30 p.m. “It’s crazy in there,” she said.
Kevin Higgins, emergency services program manager for the Benton County Sheriff’s Office, said that the emergency notification mix-up may have provided a valuable lesson for locals.
If you don’t have supplies such as water and food beforehand, it could be difficult to get them after emergency such as a major earthquake, Higgins said.
“This is a perfect example of why we want to be prepared,” he said.
“This is kind of what we preach when we give presentations.” Higgins added that residents should have three weeks of supplies at their households, and that includes a gallon of drinking water per day for every person who lives in the home.

Statesman-Journal Salem residents are driving as far as Woodburn in search of bottled water following the city’s announcement Tuesday that its drinking water supply is contaminated.
Those without the time or means to go out of town are temporarily out of luck.
Neither the city of Salem nor the Oregon Office of Emergency Management plan to coordinate water distribution points, OEM spokesman Cory Grogan said.
“There should be a supply of water coming in to stores,” Grogan said.
“It benefits them economically to be distributing water.” Major retailers such as Costco and Roth’s say they’re expecting water shipments, but don’t know if they will come in today or Thursday.
(Story continues below.)
Children younger than 6, people with compromised immune systems, people receiving dialysis treatment, people with pre-existing liver conditions, pets, pregnant women or nursing mothers, or other sensitive people should not drink the water, the city said.
Grogan said the Office of Emergency Management is allowing the city of Salem to coordinate the response to the water crisis.
"We don’t get involved unless it becomes overwhelming," he said.
Kate Brown, who oversees OEM, could be reached for comment Wednesday morning.

Montrealers will soon not be able to reach for water bottles in vending machines in city buildings.
On Tuesday, city council unanimously passed a motion banning single-use water containers from municipal buildings.
Details have not been worked out.
Benoit Dorais, chair of the city executive committee, said it will take some time for water bottles to disappear.
“We will put forward the necessary measures, respecting the jurisdiction of the boroughs,” Dorais said, adding the city is committed to “tackling the overuse of plastic.” How many water bottles do Quebecers use?
Ensemble Montréal says more than 700 million single-use water bottles end up in Quebec landfills annually.
Recyc-Québec last year estimated that the bottled-water industry consumes more than 225,000 barrels of oil annually solely to meet the needs of the Quebec market.
What else is Montreal banning?
Montreal banned the distribution of single-use plastic bags — the kind you get at grocery and retail checkouts — as of Jan. 1.
In December, Montreal city council passed a motion calling for the gradual phasing out of sugary drinks in all municipal buildings like arenas and sports centres in a bid to reduce their negative health effects.

Salem, Oregon – A health alert for young children or anyone with a vulnerable immune system: do not drink the tap water in Salem.
The city of Salem says boiling the water will not work, it could even make these toxins worse, and to use bottled water for drinking.
Read more from the City of Salem about the not drinking the tap water: City of Salem: CYANOTOXINS PRESENT IN DRINKING WATER DO NOT DRINK THE TAP WATER — MAY 29, 2018 INFANTS, YOUNG CHILDREN AND OTHER VULNERABLE INDIVIDUALS Applies to City of Salem, City of Turner, Suburban East Salem Water District, and Orchard Heights Water Association WHY IS THERE AN ADVISORY?
To ensure the greatest quality of drinking water, City of Salem voluntarily samples for such toxins during algal events.
Levels of toxins have been detected in the City of Salem water system that supplies water to City of Salem, City of Turner, Suburban East Salem Water District, and Orchard Heights Water Association.
Do Not Drink the tap water.
City of Salem will post an updated advisory when: the Cyanotoxin levels are less than or equal to the national drinking water Health Advisories, this Do Not Drink Advisory is lifted and/or if there are any changes to the conditions of this Do Not Drink Advisory.
Updates will be provided Thursday, May 31, 2018 via the City of Salem web page, CityofSalem.net; City of Salem Alert System; local media; City of Salem social media.
More on the alert sent out: Do Not Drink the Tap Water Applies to City of Salem, City of TurnerSuburban East Salem Water District and Orchard Heights Water Association The advisory: Low levels of cylindrospermopsin and microcystin (cyanotoxins) have been found in treated drining water.
Levels of toxins have been detected in the City of Salem water system that supplies water to City of Salem, City of Turner, Suburban East Salem Water District and Orchard Heights Water Association.

Low levels of toxic algae have been discovered in Salem’s drinking water, prompting officials to issue an advisory that parents should not give tap water to children under 6 years old.
From WinCo Foods to Safeway, the amount of bottled water is dwindling or already gone, store officials said at multiple locations Tuesday night.
“We’re just about out of bottled water,” said Anna Stell, customer service clerk at Safeway on Center Street in Salem.
Officials to warned parents not to give tap water to children under 6 years old, and people with compromised health and immune systems also are being told not to drink tap water.
All totaled, about 185,000 people who live in Salem and the Santiam Canyon could be impacted.
People who heard the news and showed up to grocery stores Tuesday night were greeted by chaotic circumstances.
"People were pushing — it was a madhouse," said Mark Schonbrun, 72, who was standing in the parking lot of the WinCo in South Salem.
"We got the news from her school, and since she’s right on the cusp for the age warning, we decided to come down and get bottled water for her," Keith said.
Story continues below: Salem-Keizer Public Schools will offer bottled water for students who are pre-K through first grade, district officials said Tuesday afternoon.
As reports of bottled water shortages rolled in, those at grocery and convenience stores had echoed a common theme — supplies are running low.

Low levels of toxic algae have been discovered in Salem’s drinking water, prompting officials to issue an advisory that parents should not give tap water to children under 6 years old.
People with compromised health and immune systems also are being told not to drink tap water.
Salem-Keizer Public Schools will offer bottled water for students who are pre-K through first grade, district officials said Tuesday afternoon.
Bottled water will not be provided to schools in Keizer because the city’s water comes from a different supply and is not be affected.
They will start by delivering to elementary schools, then middle and high schools for self-contained classrooms with medically fragile students, the teen-parent program, and so forth, she said.
Affected communities Detroit Gates Jefferson Lyons Mehama Mill City Salem Stayton Turner The toxins originated with algae blooms first detected last week in Detroit Lake.
Salem’s drinking water was tested May 23 and 25.
Downstream, in the North Santiam River, tests also revealed elevated levels of toxins.
It’s unclear exactly why algae blooms always seem to pop up this time of year at Detroit Lake, but Hillwig suspects it has something to do with Detroit Lake raising its water level to the summertime "full pool."
Drinking water containing cyanotoxins at levels exceeding the national drinking water Health Advisories can put people at risk of various adverse health effects including upset stomach, vomiting and diarrhea, as well as liver and kidney damage, according to the advisory.

Opinion Kuyler Crocker 300 California Communities Have Contaminated Water Too often, residents who help produce our food can’t drink their own local water without getting sick fearing serious illness.
In roughly 300 communities across the state, contaminated water has forced schools to turn off faucets and residents to buy bottled water for drinking, cooking and washing.
Solutions would be quickly forthcoming, regardless of the cost.
Residents Pay Utility Bills & Still Must Buy Bottled Water Even without access to clean water from the tap, customers still pay their monthly utility bill.
Some families in these communities pay up to 10 percent of their income for water when one accounts for both monthly bills and purchased water.
The creation of a Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund would secure an ongoing funding source that would allow smaller systems to deliver clean, safe and affordable water to customers, no matter their location or size.
Jerry Brown then gave the effort a boost earlier this year by allocating $5 million for startup funds in his state budget proposal and making a commitment to introduce a trailer bill.
Every water system in California would soon deliver clean, safe and affordable drinking water to consumers.
They are determined to work together to make the universal right of safe drinking water a reality in every California community.
At the state Capitol in Sacramento, a bipartisan alignment of legislators has been working to make the fund a reality.

The municipality of La Tuque, Que., will shut off water to 5,000 residents and businesses for two days, beginning at midnight, for critical repairs to its water main system.
People in the town of 8,000 in the upper Mauricie region are being told to set aside at least four litres of drinkable water per person per day for drinking and cooking and to reserve another five to 12 litres of non-potable water in order to wash clothes, manually flush toilets or perform household chores.
The shutdown is necessary because the municipality is replacing a section of its antiquated water main near the source of La Tuque’s water supply.
The original water main is made of wooden slats held together by metal rings "like a wooden barrel," said communications director Hélène Langlais.
The owner of Rotisserie O Coq d’or has decided to soldier on, however.
The English-language La Tuque High School has been collecting rainwater in rain barrels for the past week, so staff and students will be able to wash their hands and keep the toilets flushing.
The municipality of La Tuque is placing portable toilets around town as it gets ready to shut off the water supply for the majority of its citizens for two days.
(Radio-Canada) The municipality is installing 127 portable toilets around the town and has brought in five cistern trucks filled with water to be used in case of emergencies, such as a fire.
‘Like 2 days of camping’ Mayor Pierre-David Tremblay said citizens are used to dealing with breakdowns in their water system, although he expects them to become less frequent after the repairs are completed.
with files from Claudie Simard, Radio-Canada