A ban on drinking tap water in Longueuil, Que. has been lifted after nearly two days.

At a news conference early Friday evening, Longueuil Mayor Caroline St. Hilaire said that after several water-quality tests, drinking water has been deemed safe for consumption.

Officials said that the water in some regions may still have a slight odour, but assured residents it is safe to drink.

The news will likely come as a relief for residents in Saint-Hubert, Vieux-Longueuil, Saint-Bruno and Boucherville, who were told not to drink tap water after more than 20,000 litres of diesel spilled into the St. Lawrence River on Wednesday.

They were also advised not to use the water for preparing infant formula or baby food, cooking, or making ice cubes. Residents could still shower and bathe in the water, and wash dishes and clothing.

A previous round of tests on the water show it is clean, officials told reporters on Friday morning. However, they wanted to ensure that the water does not pick up traces of fuel as it travels from the pumping station to resident’s taps.

No serious illnesses have been reported in the wake of the ban. Prior to it being lifted, Boucherville Mayor Jean Martel said Friday he still has many questions about the sequence of events that led to the ban.

“People want to know how come we received at first the information that everything was under control, there was no prohibition,” Martel said. “But what was the change?”

Distribution centres remain open

With the ban in effect, residents could pick up potable water at more than 20 distribution and filling centres.

In a news release, officials said if citizens don’t want to drink tap water, they could still receive supplies from water distribution centres, some of which will remain open until further notice.

The complete list of distribution centres was posted on the city’s website.

More than 400,000 litres of bottled water were distributed to citizens on Thursday. Officials were hoping to bring in more water from across Quebec and nearby provinces in the event that the ban remained in place beyond Friday.

With files from CTV Montreal