The Portage County village of Windham remained under a water advisory Tuesday after testing discovered high levels of the element manganese.
According to the EPA manganese is an essential nutrient for humans, but in high amounts it can cause neurological problems.
Because of that, young children, the pregnant and nursing mothers were told not to drink the village's water.
Tuesday a steady stream of people flowed into the Windham fire station where the village supplied free bottled water.
Regina Duncan carried a case of water to her car. She said with two kids at home she wasn't taking any chances.
"I don't want them to get sick," said Duncan. "I don't want nothing to happen to them."
According to the village administrator, a build-up inside a pipe at the water treatment plant caused that pipe to clog.
The build-up prevented choline from entering the system. He said the chlorine neutralizes manganese. When the chlorine couldn't treat the water, the village said manganese levels rose.
Village Administrator Maurice Hankins said the pipes should have been cleaned out every five to six years. On Tuesday he couldn't tell 5 On Your Side Investigators when the last time the lines were maintained. He blamed that on turnover among village leaders.
"It's when you get between the village administrator and water superintendent and something wasn't followed through on that particular issue of the pipes clogging," said Hankins.
He said crews were able to make repairs Tuesday and get clean water flowing again. But the village said it would take some time to completely flush older water out of the system. Testing will have to prove levels are within acceptable limits before the water advisory is lifted.
