Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Water Watch

Home for the holidays? Here’s how to avoid pissing off the locals.Congresswomen Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) and Debbie Dingell (D-MI) put strong words to paper, asking The Honorable Gina McCarthy, Administrator of the EPA to declare the Ohio side of Lake Erie impaired. Collin O’Mara, President and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation partnered with the Lucas County Commissioners in writing their own letter in support of the requested designation.

Mayor Paula Hicks-Hudson offered her own cheers: “Marcy has worked tirelessly to protect our Lake and it is good that she is creating higher visibility for this issue by aligning with her counterpart across state lines.” And she is taking a stand on the matter — she shared with TCP a letter she’s written to President-Elect Donald J. Trump, asking him to make the impairment declaration.

Mike Ferner, spokesman for the Advocates for a Clean lake Erie (ACLE) was surprised with news of the Mayor’s letter, stating, “Writing a letter is a good thing, but there’s other things she can do, and I hope that she really puts her whole administration behind this effort.”

The Maumee River Water Trail as a Designated Water Trail has become the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. Designation brings funding for map/brochure printing and signage as well as a variety of economic, educational and environmental benefits. From Riverside Park in Antwerp to Cullen Park at the mouth of the Maumee River, the Maumee River Water Trail includes numerous Metropark stops.

The Ohio Department of Higher Education’s Harmful Algal Bloom Research Initiative (HABRI) to date has donated $4 million to the ongoing issues plaguing Lake Erie. The initiative began in 2014, as a result of the drinking water ban, with research projects focused on tracking blooms from the source, protecting public health, producing safe drinking water, and education.

University of Toledo scientist, Dr. Youngwoo Seo, has partnered with Dr. Isabel Escobar at the University of Kentucky to explore new methods of removing microcystin, the main toxin produced by algae blooms, from drinking water. Utilizing filtration techniques, lab results demonstrate that bubbling ozone gas destroys 100 percent of the toxin, but further testing is needed.

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