Toledo water crisis --- well water seems OK

Problem is Lake Erie water.

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(edited for length, read full article on web)

test on Toledo's water being conducted at the lap in Cincinnati may not be complete until late Sunday or early Monday.

city will have to wait for additional test results before making a decision about whether or not to lift the ban on drinking water from Toledo's treatment plant.

Lucas County and surrounding communities due to algae toxins found in the water.

Sunday morning press briefing ban on drinking water continues.

no discussion about shutting off the water supply, despite rumors

no severe illnesses related to the toxins so far.

Seniors and the disabled who are unable to make it to the distribution centers can call the United Way's 2-1-1 number.

Toledo asking anyone who receives water from Toledo to avoid drinking or boiling the water. This warning also affects people in Lucas County and parts of Michigan.

well water is not affected and the City of Oregon, Monroe, Michigan and Genoa say their water is fine.

microcystin in excess of the recommended amount. Health officials are advising businesses who use water to treat this like a level 3 snow emergency and remain closed.

urges residents to remain calm.

water was safe for healthy adults to use for bathing, but not safe to consume and should not be used for cooking. Officials also warned that home filtration systems will not take care of the algae.

What should you do?

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.

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.

What happened? What is being done?

Lake Erie, which is a source of drinking water for the Toledo water system may have been impacted by a harmful algal bloom (HAB). These organisms are capable of producing a number of toxins that may pose a risk to human and animal health. HABs occur when excess nitrogen and phosphorus are present in lakes and streams. Such nutrients can come from runoff of over- fertilized fields and lawns, from malfunctioning septic systems and from livestock pens.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon
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The point is that the metabolism of plants that grow on land is similar to that of plants that grow in the water.

The plant fertilizers that farmers apply to their crops eventually get carried by the rains into the rivers and streams that run into Lake Erie. Those fertilizers (primarily phosphorous) end up fertilizing the growth of algae in the lake and the result is algae plumes that can poison the drinking water for towns and cities like Toledo.

Ditto for human waste. Untreated sewage that is released into the rivers and streams flowing into Lake Erie acts exactly the same way as cow manure spread onto crop land does. In both cases, the dung acts as a fertilizer to bolster the growth of plants, and it doesn't matter if those plants take root in the ground or float in the water.

It's just another one of those problems that happen as a result of growth in the population and the need to feed the additional people.

Reply to
nestork

So, illegal border criminals are to blame?

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

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