Toledo water supply shut down by toxic algae
B. McPherson Toledo was issued a wake-up call when toxic algae forced a shut-down of the water supply. 400 000 people were suddenly without water. They were told that the water was too toxic to touch. Orders went out to not use it as contact could result in difficulties. Difficulties like acute liver failure and death. The culprit is a one celled algae. Algae are an important part of our ecosystem but when Nature’s fine balance is knocked out of kilter problems arise. Lake Erie is the most shallow of the Great Lakes. When hot summer weather warms the shallow lake, blue-green algae grow quickly. When runoff of fertilizer from agricultural operations and the products of millions of toilets are dumped into the water, the algae reproduce so fast that the water turns green with them. This is called a “bloom”. When the algae produce a poison, the water becomes poisonous as well. Monday, the mayor of Toledo announced that tests came back showing the toxin levels had dropped...