Lake Erie Watershed stats
- 8,000 square miles of watershed across 3 states
- 146 Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (i.e. factory farms) housing
- 11,617,507 animals that produced
- 690,803,615 gallons of untreated animal waste (roughly the amount of sewage generated by both Los Angeles and Chicago combined) that leach into Lake Erie-bound waterways spanning
Obviously the drinkability of Western Lake Erie’s water is an issue, but area governments have yet to solicit the assistance of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA could audit for pollution culprits if Western Lake Erie was labeled an “impaired” watershed.
Source: Sierra Club Michigan Chapter report
“Follow the Manure: Factory Farms and the Lake Erie Algal Crisis”
