Ohio Water Contamination Emergency ‘Not Over Yet’

The Ohio water contamination emergency is “not over yet,” according to Toledo Mayor D. Michael Collins. While preliminary testing showed toxin levels in the affected water were improving, officials were still waiting for federal officials to analyze more samples and determine if the water is safe to drink.

The water emergency began Saturday when a toxin was discovered in a northwestern Ohio treatment plant. USA Today reports that the problem left about 500,000 people without drinking water. Residents of Toledo and small portions of southeastern Michigan lined up for water Saturday after news of the contamination.

The National Guard produced 33,000 gallons of drinking water by Sunday morning and an additional 15,000 was delivered in collapsible containers.

The Ohio water contamination problem is complicated because boiling the affected water only makes the toxin more concentrated. Mayor Collins explained that the contamination is because of algae in Lake Erie, Toledo’s main water supply. Once the water is deemed safe, officials will work to figure out how to keep the contamination from happening again.

Collins stated, “Once we clear this problem up, that is not going to eliminate the algae problem in the western basin of Lake Erie, that is not going to eliminate agricultural runoff, that is not going to eliminate mega- farming. That is where we have to go. It’s not simply looking at the [water treatment] system.”

MSN News notes that water plant operators have long worried about a possible Ohio water contamination scenario as they watched a growing number of algae blooms turn the water in Lake Erie into a pea soup color in recent summers. The problems in the shallowest of the five Great Lakes have been building for more than a decade.

The algae bloom is largely blamed by researchers on manure and chemical fertilizer from farms that wash into the lake. Leaky septic tanks, sewage treatment plants, and stormwater drains also contributed. Together, these problems flush huge amounts of phosphorous into Lake Erie.

Environmental groups and water researchers have been calling on Ohio and other states in the region to reduce the amount of phosphorous leeching into the lake for several years. This past spring, Ohio lawmakers took a step toward tackling the problem. They enacted a law that requires most farmers to undergo training before using chemical fertilizers. However, they have stopped short of mandating restrictions on farmers.

Still, officials and conservation groups say that more needs to be done in light of the Ohio water contamination emergency.

[Image: WGRZ]