Charleston , West Virginia ( CNN ) -- Independent tests commissioned by CNN of water supplies from a hotel and home in southwest West Virginia showed the presence of a chemical after a leak in the area last week , but both samples were within levels believed to be acceptable for consumption . TestAmerica , a private company , conducted the test . Samples taken Tuesday showed the presence of 4-methylcyclohexane methanol -- a substance used in the coal industry -- well below the 1 part per million considered safe to drink . Water in the private residence tested at 0.27 parts per million , or about a fourth of the limit , while water at the hotel tested at .011 parts per million , roughly a hundredth of the limit , according to the testing firm . The hotel had been cleared to resume water use ; the private residence had not . More than half of the 300,000 West Virginians who have n't been able to turn on their faucets since last week now have access to safe water again . Water customers in about 70,000 homes and businesses covering well over half of the people originally affected may now use the water , according to West Virginia American Water . Pregnant West Virginia women told to drink bottled water . The problem stemmed from a leak of several thousand gallons of 4-methylcyclohexane methanol from a storage tank belonging to a company called Freedom Industries . That chemical made its way into the Elk River , to a water plant about a mile upstream , and then into the water system . Calls to Freedom Industries for comment were not immediately returned . Residents of nine counties -- including the one that is home to Charleston , West Virginia 's capital and most populated city -- were urged last week not to use their tap water to do anything except flush their toilets . With its strong odor as the telltale sign , officials warned that they could n't say that the water was safe . Living without tap water in West Virginia . Opinion : It 's OK , the water 's safe to flush . Despite some orders being lifted , residents remain worried . `` The biggest concern is that we do n't know ... I mean , certainly , the water is turned back on , but there 's no guarantee -- is it safe ? Is it safe right now ? Is it safe in the long term ? What is this chemical and what is it going to do ? '' asked Crystal Good , a mother of three from Charleston . She spoke to CNN 's The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer . `` Today is Martin Luther King 's birthday and he said that if there 's an injustice anywhere , there 's an injustice everywhere , and I feel that there 's an injustice going on in West Virginia and that we do n't know the long-term consequences . `` And this is something that , in my opinion , happened in West Virginia , but affects all of America . There are chemicals that are stored in every town , and every state , everywhere , that it could potentially leak . '' Jean Casarez reported from Charleston , West Virginia . Dana Ford reported and wrote from Atlanta .
CNN commissioned testing of water at a hotel , private residence . Both samples were well below the 1 part per million considered safe to drink . More customers can use tap water .