Animal shelter's water isn't fit for drinking

GRANITE CITY, Ill. -- Workers at a local animal shelter have learned that their tap water isn't fit for a dog.

The staff at the Granite City Association for the Protection of Animals learned Friday that excessive levels of rust have made water from shelter's well unsafe for animals to drink.

Patti Aebischer, a veterinary technician at the shelter, said water was being brought in to give the animals while workers try to resolve the problem with the well water.

"We can still clean with it, but we can't give it to the animals," she said.

Association president Bob Tillay said the shelter has its well water tested every year.

While a little rust in the water isn't harmful, Tillay said the shelter's well is contaminated with 160 times the acceptable level of rust -- so much that the water can't even be filtered enough to make it safe for drinking.

"Usually you can get a filter, but I've been told there is nothing on this planet that will take the rust down," Tillay said.