Crews responding to oil spill in St. Clair River

Suncor in Sarnia is responding to an oil spill in the St. Clair River Thursday afternoon, prompting a downstream township to advise its residents against coming into contact with the water. 

An alert from Suncor issued Thursday around 2 p.m. advises of an "incident" and says people will notice an "odour" in the area of the Suncor dock. 

St. Clair Township, just downriver from the spill, has identified the spill as being of crude oil that is now being captured by Suncor and Shell. 

Water in the St. Clair Township water system is safe to drink and is not affected by the spill, the township said. The city of Sarnia also said in a statement its drinking water is safe. 

The Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks has been notified, the city says. 

In a subsequent alert just after 4 p.m., Suncor said the source of the "release" has been identified and isolated. 

The incident was reported around 1 p.m. and there were no injuries, the company said in a statement. 

"Suncor immediately deployed its response equipment including booms and vacuum equipment on the St. Clair River," the company said. "We continue to work with local organizations on our response, who are assisting with shoreline assessment and air monitoring in the vicinity."

St. Clair Township is advising recreational boaters to avoid contact with the water. 

Shell in Corunna has been asked to provide aid "on behalf of another industry member" and is providing emergency response equipment and personnel, the company said in its own community alert.

"During this time, the community may notice boats, booms and emergency response vehicles responding."

The Town of Petrolia's water system is not affected by the St. Clair spill, the town said in a post on its social media channels.

Those on the Petrolia water system include residents of Petrolia, Enniskillen, Oil Springs and Dawn Euphemia.

The Walpole Island First Nation council has said its tap water is safe to use because the intake has been closed and the First Nation is running off its water tower supply.