Algae bloom toxin in NW Ohio drinking water - Don't drink or touch water

[Holly_Hobby]

Last edited Sat Aug 2, 2014, 04:20 PM - Edit history (6)

We've had issues with algae bloom on Lake Erie in the past. Our sewage also dumps into the same area where we get our drinking water. We have a reverse osmosis filtering system in our house.

So...no water to be bought within 100 miles, a million people without water. No official word from the City or County except don't use it for anything.

There are near riots at stores, price gouging, etc. Restaurants are closed.

We live near one of the largest fresh water lakes on the planet and we've poisoned it.

http://www.toledoblade.com/local/2014/08/02/City-of-Toledo-issues-do-no-drink-water-advisery.html

Update 11AM: Ok to bathe, level not high enough to cause harm to healthy adults - babies, children or compromised immune people should not.

The NATIONAL GUARD is at the building where the Mayor, health and water officials are meeting. Hmm...worried, are they? This was reported by one of the local news stations.

Update 11:45AM: Gov. Kasich calling in National Guard for public safety. Under a State of Emergency. An Entity (don't know) in Akron sending water. Water distribution from across the state will be on the way here sometime today, to distribute 1 case of water per family at local schools.

Update 12:15PM: Mayor says no idea how long it will go on...we need a strong SW wind to blow the algae into the middle of the lake. Hot, humid weather will compound the issue. (Maybe no drinking water until Fall???) Lake Erie's shore near Toledo has the warmest temps in the summer than anywhere else on the lake.

Update 4:15PM: Officials standing around with their hands in their pockets waiting for lab results expected about 3 hours from now. The kindness of strangers...people coming down from Michigan with U-Hauls full of bottled water, on their dime. People coming from Lima, Ohio with carloads full of water, on their dime too. 60 people in the ER with gastro issues from drinking the water before finding out it was toxic. Could have been more.

[madokie]

1. We had a problem in Grand Lake near here

earlier this year. The last two extremely hot summers we had some areas of the lakes were off limits for a good portion of those summers.
We're shitting in our nest, only way I have, at this java starved time of the day, of putting it

[In_The_Wind]

2. Damn! That's horrible.

[chervilant]

3. Tick Tock, Tick Tock...

Our tenure on this planet is coming to an end, and we bear grim witness to our ignominious hedonism.

[mountain grammy]

4. I fear you are correct! Tick tock!

[Divernan]

5. Toledo police were also responding to “disorders over bottled water”

Toledo police were also responding to “disorders over bottled water” and large crowds gathered outside stores.

13abc.com: Breaking News, Weather and Sports

Perrysburg officials have said residents should not use irrigation systems until notified otherwise.

The city recommended:

● Do not drink the water. Alternative water should be used for drinking, making infant formula, making ice, brushing teeth and preparing food. Pets should not drink the water.

● Do not boil the water. Boiling the water will not destroy the toxins — it will increase the concentration of the toxins.

The city, according to the Facebook post, said Lake Erie might have have been impacted by a harmful algal bloom.

Consuming water containing algal toxins may result in abnormal liver function, diarrhea, vomiting, nausea, numbness or dizziness. Seek medical attention if you feel you have been exposed to algal toxins and are having adverse health effects. Skin contact with contaminated water can cause irritation or rashes. Contact a veterinarian immediately if pets or livestock show signs of illness.

[CanonRay]

6. A sign of the (new) times.

The civil unrest as a result of this is a foreshadowing of what is coming. If people don't have water or food, they get real testy. Fast.

[jwirr]

12. And NOW is the time for the government to get involved - the state should be looking at ways to

clean up the mess and stop further mess.

[bulloney]

14. We need more tax cuts!

That's always been a proven solution to everything. I'll bet Gov. Kasich is working on such a plan right now.

[jwirr]

16. Unfortunately you are correct! With a rethug gov they are going to have to find their own solutions

until election time.

[Divernan]

7. Not to worry! One Percenters can always afford all the H2O they need.

Just waiting for the what-me-worry crowd to post their ridicule of anyone concerned about this.
I suggest they read the following and shove their hair-on-fire icons somewhere dark.

http://www2.epa.gov/nutrientpollution/climate-change-and-harmful-algal-blooms

EPA
United States Environmental Protection Agency

EPA Home » Nutrient Pollution » Climate Change and Harmful Algal Blooms
Climate Change and Harmful Algal Blooms

Scientists predict that climate change will have many effects on freshwater and marine environments. These effects, along with nutrient pollution, might cause harmful algal blooms to occur more often, in more waterbodies and to be more intense. Algal blooms endanger human health, the environment and economies across the United States.
Climate Impacts That Might Affect Algal Blooms:
Warming water temperature
Toxic blue-green algae thrive in warm, slow-moving water.
Harmful algae usually bloom during the warm summer season or when water temperatures are warmer than usual. Warmer water due to climate change might favor harmful algae in a number of ways:

Toxic blue-green algae prefer warmer water.
Warmer temperatures prevent water from mixing, allowing algae to grow thicker and faster.
Warmer water is easier for small organisms to move through and allows algae to float to the surface faster.
Algal blooms absorb sunlight, making water even warmer and promoting more blooms.

Changes in salinity

Climate change might lead to more droughts, which make freshwater saltier. This can cause marine algae to invade freshwater ecosystems. In the southwestern and south central United States, toxic marine algae have been killing fish in freshwater lakes since 2000.

Higher carbon dioxide levels

Algae need carbon dioxide to survive. Higher levels of carbon dioxide in the air and water can lead to rapid growth of algae, especially toxic blue-green algae that can float to the surface of the water.

Changes in rainfall
Extreme storms followed by periods of drought can lead to more algal blooms like this one seen in Iowa in 2011.

Climate change might affect rainfall patterns, leading to alternating periods of drought and intense storms. This can cause more nutrient runoff into waterbodies, feeding more algal blooms.
Sea level rise

Scientists predict that sea level could rise up to one meter by the year 2100. This would create more shallow and stable coastal water, conditions that are perfect for the growth of algae.


Coastal upwelling is the process by which winds push surface water offshore and deep water moves towards the coast, bringing nutrients from the ocean floor to the surface. Climate change is expected to alter the timing and intensity of coastal upwelling. Along the west coast of the United States, excess nutrients delivered by upwelling might lead to more algal blooms.

Learn more about harmful algal blooms.

Learn more about climate change’s impacts on water resources.

Contact Us to ask a question, provide feedback, or report a problem.
Nutrient Pollution


Last updated on March 16, 2014

[Divernan]

8. Toledo-Cleveland-Erie-Buffalo: Cities lined up on shore of Lake Erie.

[dembotoz]

9. folk who live on the great lakes and laugh at drinking water shortages elsewhere should laugh a

little quieter now.....

[Cirque du So-What]

18. I live on the Great Lakes

and I've never laughed at anyone else's lack of drinking water.

[Holly_Hobby]

20. Me neither. I've lived here all my life, 58 years. n/t

[Cirque du So-What]

23. I'm 59

and although I'm not a native, I now consider it my home, and I fight with every fiber of my being toward protecting this precious resource.

[Holly_Hobby]

25. Thank you. n/t

[bulloney]

10. This is what happens when you let polluters self regulate.

This has especially been the case in agriculture, specifically large livestock operations. The increasing number of large livestock and poultry operations in the Lake Erie watershed is a significant factor in all of this. That, and generous applications of fertilizers on lawns in our suburban and urban areas.

In the past, we've seen smaller outbreaks of this kind of stuff, but we've gotten by with boiling our water, prohibiting swimming or some other temporary inconvenience. Now, they don't want anyone to have any contact of any kind with this water they're drawing from the faucets of their homes or businesses indefinitely.

Just how bad is this?

[MissB]

15. Blooms like this usually have a fairly short life.

They will continue to sample the bloom until it no longer shows toxin. At least that's how it works around here.

I don't know how big the bloom is, or whether they can shift the intake to avoid it. They may be stuck with just waiting it out.

Around here, the blooms tend to take a few weeks to resolve, but we are in a different climate. Next year will be more likely to be more of the same.

Edited to add: there are lots of different algal species. Blue greens (cyanocacteria) around here are the ones we sample the heck out of, because we are worried about anatoxin-a. That's a bad one, really bad.

[Holly_Hobby]

21. The Health Dept. director mentioned cyanocacteria

They test for it daily. 1ppm is dangerous, we're now at 2.1.

[Fla Dem]

11. SMH. We are slowly driving the human race to extinction.

Climate change, pollution, wars, disease, overuse of antibiotics, poverty, over population. Not in my life time, but I fear for the next 3 generations. Unless the world wakes up soon, Earth will be a dead planet by 2300.

[FailureToCommunicate]

13. Ohio, where the Clean Waters Act (1972) got a big push...

'Now, that's what you'd call ironic.'




June 1969, Cuyahoga River (latest of several river fires)




Dear fellow Buckeyes: stay safe, and hydrated. Help your neighbors. Get out your old camping water filters

[MissB]

17. Unless they are recommending those filters

I wouldn't use them. Our state generally doesn't recommend trying to filter or boil during an algal event. If they've issued a "do not use" order then camping filters are not going to help.

[FailureToCommunicate]

28. Apparently, only activated carbon filtering after fine filtering can (mostly) make blue/green

algae toxins removed.

So you are correct, not just any old camping filters will work.

http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/microtox.htm

[packman]

19. The "New Oil" of the future - water

when it gets sold by the pint,quart, gallon or barrel at filling stations like gasoline, the future will have arrived and the riots will begin.

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[postulater]

22. Are you drinking from your reverse osmosis system?

Does it filter out the microcystin?

[Holly_Hobby]

24. The dealer says it does...but

we're not taking any chances. My husband has liver disease and I have 3 dogs, so no.

[Motown_Johnny]

26. Sorry to hear about that.. hope it all works out

but....


any word on what might have caused the bloom?



I have a strong interest in this kind of thing. My (bias) guess is that the phosphorus leaching into the lake from the clay content in the local soil is the trigger.


I was at a seminar in April which showed satellite photos of exactly that. The working theory (again bias) is that the new laws which limit the amount of phosphorus which can be applied to lawns it backfiring. The plants need more than they are getting and as the plants weaken the soil leaches nutrients into the ground water.

If you get any info about the root causes of this tragedy please post it. I will also look into it on my own but since you are closer to the source it is a good bet you will get better information than I.

[Holly_Hobby]

27. It's been an ongoing problem here

Toledo's Lake Erie shore has the warmest temps, so algae bloom in hot summers are "normal" now. The blame is being put squarely on farming run-off and phosphorus.

The Mayor said today that the only thing to bring an end to it is a good SW wind to blow the algae into the middle of the lake. Yeah, ok. No drinking water until fall when the temps drop?

[Motown_Johnny]

30. Thanks

I don't doubt it is the phosphorus. I guess the debate is exactly why the phosphorus is now at such a level that algae blooms are considered normal.


The really bad thing is that it has not been a hot summer. You get pretty much the same weather down there that I am getting up here in Detroit so I have a feel for what your weather has been lately. Unseasonably cool.

I sure hope they figure this out before we string a few really hot summers together.

Maybe you guys need to run a pipe up here and draw from lake St. Clair. It would be expensive but it would solve the problem. Besides, it is the same water... just a bit upstream from where you draw it from.


Good luck to you.

[Holly_Hobby]

31. It has been cool here...

It didn't warm up until a few days ago, but it only reached 80! I wonder what the effects would have been if we'd had a normal summer. We usually have about 3 weeks in the 90's, most years in recent memory have been more.

Marcy Kaptur was on tv saying we need a completely new water treatment plant located somewhere else where it is now.

Thanks.

[Motown_Johnny]

32. They should try to tap into Detroit's

since our population has dropped so much it seems like ours is now overkill.

Just make sure you pay your bill.

[Holly_Hobby]

33. It's outrageous what's been done in Detroit...

and I love that town. It was the first big city I visited as an adult and it's near and dear to my heart.

[Sienna86]

29. A wake up call.

Hope this resolves soon and a better way of preventing the algae bloom is followed.