Five years later, the runoff into “Lady Erie” continues
It’s been five years since Toledo’s water crisis came to a head with an algae bloom that gained national attention, bringing our city to the forefront of the fight for clean water and against what activists have deemed government-sanctioned pollution. Mike Ferner, founder of Advocates for a Clean Lake Erie (ACLE), is one of the loudest voices for this movement. Along with the organizer of Toledoans for Safe Water, Markie Miller, Ferner will be speaking at an event ACLE put together to remind the public about a continuing, and very real, threat.
Event highlights
The event, Five Years After Toledo’s Water Crisis: Presented by Advocates for a Clean Lake Erie, begins with Ferner and Miller discussing clean water issues, but there will also be a sing-along with musician Chicago Farmer, followed by a satirical performance where“Lady Erie” interacts with the EPA and other major players surrounding the dilemma. No spoilers, but the visual from this theatrical piece will be tough to forget, and the target of the group’s critique impossible to miss. Ferner said it “very pointedly sums up what the government’s role is in all of this.”
We asked Mike Ferner what’s up with the water:
Why is it important to mark the five year anniversary of the algae bloom that began in Maumee Bay?
To keep the problems with Lake Erie on the front burner. It’s too bad that it takes a crisis like not being able to use the water from the tap to get the government’s and the public’s attention.
What are the public’s views of ongoing problems with the Lake when the effects aren’t right in front of them?
We see that people do care, but not enough to raise hell to make officials do their job. That’s what we’re worried about. I always tell people that this isn’t a spectator sport. When people come up to me and our group to say, “You’re doing a great job for the lake,” I say, “Well, it’s not just something our group has to do.” Everybody needs to figure out what they can do to help.
When you consider the conditions that caused the bloom five years ago, and what has been done since then to prevent another occurrence, what has changed?
In the last five years, we’ve put $500 million into the water treatment plant. If we have a situation that’s as bad as it was five years ago, we’ll be able to put enough chemicals into the water to make it safe, probably. But, as far as what’s happened with the lake, it has only gotten worse. There’s not been one thing done in terms of the [source of the] pollution.”
How would you say it’s gotten worse, specifically?
There are over 700 animal factories in the Maumee Watershed. There’s a difference between the Maumee Watershed, which is about 5500 miles, and the Lake Erie Watershed, which is about 8,000 square miles. Just in the Maumee Watershed, there are 700 of these animal factories that are pumping out twice as much waste as the cities of Los Angeles and Chicago combined. It’s spread untreated on the fields that drain directly into Lake Erie, and absolutely nothing has been done to hold any of these operations accountable. The state continues to allow more and more of these operations to open for business. For instance, just one of the permits that were issued in the last five years allowed an additional two million chickens [to be raised]”
We didn’t just want to do a news conference to mark this sad anniversary. We want to do something that will really hit home and involve people. That’s why we decided to put this event together.
Fri., 8.2
Acting to Protect Our Water Learn how to take action to protect our water. Guest speakers inclde Alicia Smith of Freshwater Future and Sean Nestor of Toledoans for Safe Water. 5-7pm. Frederick Douglass Community Association,
1001 Indiana Ave.
Sat., 8.3
Five Years After Toledo’s Water Crisis – Advocates for a Clean Lake Erie will join discuss what happened five years ago and explain why Lake Erie is still endangered at 11am. International Park Gazebo. Contact Mike Ferner at [email protected] or at
419-729-7273 with any questions.
Sat., 8.10 & Sun., 8.11
Yard Sale for the Lake Erie Bill of Rights – Support the Lake Erie Bill of Rights by shopping for clothes and purchasing baked goods. 10a-5pm, Saturday and Sunday. 2357 Scottwood Avenue, at the intersection of Scottwood and Winthrop.
The Advocates for a Clean Lake Erie continue to present to community groups. The lawsuit the group filed against the EPA to push the organization to comply with the Clean Water Act is still pending in federal court. For more information, visit
advocatesforacleanlakeerie.org.
What to expect this year
In case you need a reminder of what people mean when they reference the algae bloom, let’s dip our toes in the scientific research that is continually being done to monitor the phenomenon. While algae is not necessarily harmful, it sometimes contains cyanobacteria, a blue-green algae that has the potential to produce microsystin— a liver toxin that poses serious health risks. The cause? Run-off from the byproducts of local agriculture (think manure from hog farms and phosphorus from soybean and corn farms’ fertilizers). Essentially, this cocktail is a “superfood” for the bloom.
We’ve just entered the Harmful Algae Bloom (HAB season), which lasts roughly from July to early fall, and so far the predictions are enough to bring us out of the lull from last year’s relatively mild bloom. For the sake of comparison, last summer’s bloom registered on the severity index scale at a 3.6, while the current projection is 7.5— a projection the NOAA has deemed a “significant harmful algae bloom.” The largest blooms in 2011 and 2015 measured at 10 and 10.5, respectively.
The National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) keeps a watchful eye on the Harmful Algae Bloom (HAB) in Lake Erie and other at-risk areas across the country.
For up-to-date coverage on the bloom, visit noaa.gov.
