New from the Alliance for the Great Lakes, American Rivers, Environment Ohio, Freshwater Future, Lake Erie Charter Boat Association, Lake Erie Waterkeeper Inc., Ohio Environmental Council, National Wildlife Federation and the Sierra Club
(A Brief Foreward from NAL publisher Doug Draper – On the growing pollution mess in Lake Erie, I continually hear and receive far more expressions of concern from American individuals and groups, even though Lake Erie is a shared resource that is a vital source of water to millions of Canadians, including those living in Niagara, Ontario communities, too.
A stretch of Lake Erie at Long Point in Niagara, Ontario, already not in the best of shape
Where are my fellow Canadians on this one? Are we going to wait until we have your own Toledo, Ohio crisis until we join our American neighbours in the call for action to protect the health of this irreplaceable Great Lakes resource?)
August 6th, 2014 – Although the immediate crisis in the city of Toledo has passed, the threat to drinking water supplies in Toledo and other Lake Erie communities has not.
The same factors that led to nearly 500,000 Lake Erie residents not being able to drink the water for two days will return until measurable reductions in nutrients, particularly phosphorus, are implemented on a clear and swift timetable. Nutrient pollution is a clear danger not only to our drinking water, but our way of life and economic well-being. While the Great Lakes region is focusing on developing a “blue economy” for the Midwest, we must realize that this new economic future cannot stand with national headlines declaring Great Lakes water unsafe to drink. Until we stop polluting our lakes, our economy, drinking water and way of life are in jeopardy.
The algal bloom “season” on Lake Erie is just getting under way and is forecast to continue into October. Due to previous damage to the lake, invasive zebra/quagga mussels that exacerbate the concentration and intensity, and the effects of a changing climate, the nutrient pollution problem will likely get worse if we do nothing. This is a problem that is being felt most acutely in Lake Erie, but is well-entrenched in locations throughout the Great Lakes region.
Fortunately, the problem is not out of our control. It is preventable. It is unacceptable that our region has chosen to pollute Lake Erie so significantly that drinking water for approximately 11 million Americans and Canadians is at risk.
We can change this. Swift action by the governors of Great Lakes states and Premier of Ontario is needed to implement measurable reductions in nutrients, particularly phosphorus, on a clear timetable to protect our region’s health, economy and quality of life.
See our “Recommendations for a Lake Erie Nutrient Diet” at: http://www.greatlakes.org/document.doc?id=1486
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