Blue-green algae from a similar water crisis in China. Microcystin toxin (currently poisoning Toledo’s water) is a product of an abundance of this appetizing stuff – which uses nutrients like phosphorus to grow.
“…the increased presence of nutrients such as phosphorous is largely due to poor farming practices…as well as effluent and run-off from towns and cities near waterways.”
-NOAA Center of Excellence for Great Lakes and Human Health (CEGLHH)
So you live in a city without water.
You’re rationing sips of H2O like the end times are upon us, and everyone’s starting to smell pretty damn funky (sure, they say you can shower as long as you don’t get the water in any orifices or cuts, but screw that. I’m no daredevil).
What is there to do? You can’t wash the dishes that are piling up in the kitchen. You can’t do the laundry or take the kids swimming. Can’t even go out to eat – because boiling this poisonous sludge somehow makes the situation worse, and every restaurant in the city is closed.
So, while you’re adjusting to your new post-apocalyptic lifestyle, maybe you could take a few minutes to call and/or email your local congressmen.
Tell them they better either distribute bottled water outside random high schools for the rest of eternity, or pass a few $%&(@! environmental-protection bills so we can go back to life as it once was.
Oh look, I found a list of every Ohio representative by county and their phone numbers:
http://www.ohiohouse.gov/members/member-by-county
(If you click on a person’s name, you are taken to their personal page which just so happens to provide their email address also)
OMG, and here is the list of every Ohio state senator and THEIR contact information:
http://www.ohiosenate.gov/senate/members/senate-directory
Not the type of person who normally calls their congressmen?
You’re also not the type of person who normally stands in line for three hours waiting for someone to drive up from Columbus with a few ounces of that thing that gives you life.
Don’t live in Toledo? Do you want this happening in your city? Call your congressman already!
EDIT: Please be polite when you call your congressmen. The poor interns you’re talking to didn’t cause our water woes.
ofamoderation 
You don’t have to drive all the way to Colombus to get water, I live 30 minutes outside of Toledo and we had plenty of water for the people smart enough to actually come out our way instead of half way into michigan.
LikeLike
Oh yea I know there was water a half hour outside town during this particular incident. We got our water from BG. However, there were also people waiting in line for trucks to arrive from Columbus, Cinci, and Cleveland with additional water. And if this sort of crisis were ever to last more than a couple of days, we would need continual shipments from that far away to sustain the city. Which is why I want to make sure we fight for long term solutions! Even having to drive half an hour away for water is ridiculous if you have to do it all the time, right?
LikeLike
Congratulation, you are among most popular WordPress.com posts. Great Post 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Aww thank you! I think I’m really going to enjoy blogging 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
We couldn’t even get one straight answer out of Toledo officials this morning… chlorine shock your pool??? wtf… Then a answer of drain it(correct one) then yeah chlorine will fix… They have no idea about it, don’t care, or are worried about political reprisals… make stuff up about the cause but seem to think made up answers and a mayor drinking Aquafina in a glass on TV will reassures us into ignorance… Then my question on Toledo/SE Michigan products at distillers and all businesses using this water supply that makes consumable products and if previous shipment were stopped and tested for toxin after water ban was made to make sure no toxic water was in products and shipped around the US or World etc. after admitting weak testing guidelines for the toxin and knew all this previously circa the Blade 2011 and issues in the 70’s and 80’s and all this was tip toed around with no answer… This is a major problem and we are getting side stepped for politics all the way up the ladder… Something needs to be investigated preferably by a set of attorneys..
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wake up call world.
LikeLike
any one stupid enough to use Lake Erie as their water source………I swam in it ONCE got out and took a long shower!
LikeLike
You’re joking right? You can’t blame this on the people who are FORCED to rely on Lake Erie as our water source, considering the government determines our water sources for us. I’m very confused as to how you came to the conclusion that we’re the stupid ones. Maybe we could blame it on, oh, I don’t know… farm run-off and the government’s decisions (or lack thereof) as it pertains to our phosphorous problem in Lake Erie? Not to mention mismanagement of funds that were previously allocated for a new water treatment plant.
LikeLike
And it’s not like Lake Erie is unusual in recently being polluted to the point of not being good for people. Sure, the severity of the situation is unusual, but we have MAJOR water problems in the US. Most of our major watersheds are either threatened or compromised. That means that there isn’t a truly clean source of water for millions of people. The technology exists to do a lot better. For example, a friend of mine’s father does research into using fertilizers more effectively, and has done so for a couple decades. He found that if you test the fields and target the areas that need nutrients, you can use so much less that the testing pays for itself, including the manpower/expertise cost of having the testing and a nutrient map of the land made. But instead, most farmers do it the old way, which means literally tons of excess chemicals that wash into our waterways. There have also been advances in water treatment and sewage treatment, but most cities in the US are relying on ancient, overloaded systems because no one puts money towards that particular infrastructure until something catastrophic happens. Then, instead of having tax money that has been earmarked over a series of years to pay for the new tech, they have to float a bond, which costs the taxpayers more money than if the money had been taken directly from taxes.
LikeLike
Reblogged this on Wind of the Dragon.
LikeLike
Right on! Thank you.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Water:
Here’s the question that I’ve not been able to get answers to. What has happened to the federally protected DPU fund? At one time, not long ago, there were millions of dollars in this fund. All of our water and sewer bill monies go into this fund. DPU employees are compensated from this fund, along with many others who are not or ever were employed by DPU. Past mayors have funded projects other than DPU from this fund. Now, being depleted, we’re at a crossroad. That crossroad has been bridged by the EPA, who have mandated repairs in the millions of dollars. And as usual it’s passed to the taxpayer. Algae bloom my butt…mismanagement of funds!
LikeLike
Speaking of mismanagement, one has to wonder “Why this year?” The winter was exceptionally cold. The Great Lakes ice melt was the latest on record. This summer was the coldest on record. Algae blooms need warm water. Did Ohio’s farmers just begin using fertilizer this year? Or … are we seeing the cumulative effect of mismanagement of our water treatment facility?
LikeLike
Over the past 20+ years, almost every (if not all) summer, Maumee Bay is unusable for months on end due to this same algal bloom. This is not news. What is news, however, is the topic Alan speaks of. Toledo’s problems are usually preventable, but the city is in total mayhem constantly. I would not be surprised to see this city go by way of Detroit. The city of Oregon (borders Toledo) noticed spiked in their test results WEEKS ago, and took the necessary precautions to protect its residents through their water treatment plant. They have had safe running water throughout the weekend. Unfortunately, for some unknown reason, Toledo either hasn’t been testing (which, if true, is OUTRAGEOUS, considering this happens on a smaller scale EVERY YEAR), or has been testing and knew, but didn’t take precautions until it was too late.
Add on to that global warming, the weird weather we have been having the past few months, farm run-offs west of Toledo, sewage dumps, etc.
It’s a surprise to me that a catastrophe of this sort hasn’t happened sooner.
LikeLike
Really, that is so sarcastic. If you want to be helpful go pass out some water jugs! We do not need the attitude
LikeLike
It is absolutely commendable that people are passing out water. I’ve been so impressed with the community coming together in that way. My concern is that passing out bottled water is not a long-term solution. And I suppose I’m feeling snarky about it because it takes something like this for people to notice that environmental issues are worth fighting for, you know? It gets frustrating. So we have to use this event to get people to act! To make sure political leaders with the power to create long term solutions pay attention!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Yes, we do need the attitude. I wouldn’t even say it was “snarky”; I would say very cleverly and humorously written. It’s witty, succinct and informative–things that are very hard to do alone, much less together. Well done!
LikeLike
While passing out water is a great suggestion, contacting our politicians might be the most ideal thing. Passing out water will only last for so long.. We’ve needed this problem fixed for 20+ years. Our congressmen and women that represent us need to make decisions and take action on the pollution of Lake Erie, before it’s too late. This is just the beginning, just a warning sign. If we continue to allow pollution into the lake, it’s only going to get worse. Bottled water is just a Band-Aid.
LikeLike