Windsor Spitfires collect 50,000 bottles of water for Flint residents

Fans of the Windsor Spitfires have donated some 50,000 bottles of water to help residents of nearby Flint, Mich., whose drinking water has shown high levels of lead.

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The Ontario Hockey League team put out a call for bottles before Thursday's game and later tweeted the tally along with a photo showing cases of water.

In another tweet Thursday, the team said "lots of great people stepped up tonight."

Water bottles are still being collected today and Saturday.

Drinking water in Flint, about 100 kilometres northwest of Windsor, became contaminated with lead when the city began drawing from the river in 2014 as a cost-cutting measure while under state financial management.

The water was not properly treated to keep lead from pipes from leaching into the supply.