Guest column: Lake Erie needs more immediate protective action

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By Michelle Woodhouse

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Lake Erie continues to have problems.

People who depend on the lake today and for generations to come will face the consequences of an unhealthy lake if we don’t start taking a holistic approach to protecting it.

One of the biggest threats facing Erie has become the more serious, harmful and toxic algal blooms. We’ve seen some of the most damaging blooms on record in recent summers, leaving some residents with undrinkable, swimmable, and swimmable water.

This year, residents and summer visitors to the western Lake Erie Basin were lucky enough to experience a smaller, milder, toxic algal bloom. Good news, but no cause for celebration, as a flower of any size is unacceptable and the underlying causes demand our attention.

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Many will remember the more severe blooms the Western Basin has experienced recently. In 2014, residents of Toledo, Ohio, received a two-day ban on drinking and cooking with tap water due to toxic algae concentrations so high that they exceeded the World Health Organization guidelines for drinking water.

Guilty? Microcystis – A freshwater cyanobacterium that dominates these toxic algal blooms. In humans, microcystin poisoning causes nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and a sore throat. For animals, including pets, it can be fatal.

The increasing occurrence and severity of these blooms over the past decade provides us with a harsh truth: this is the new normal. We will continue to see summers with severe blooms in Lake Erie as we continue to delay the implementation of known solutions to this problem.

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What is happening is certainly complex with things like agriculture, urban intensification, forest loss, wetland degradation, warming lake temperatures driven by climate change, and invasive species. Each of them interact to exacerbate these harmful toxic blooms.

But one thing we know for sure is that reducing the amount of fertilizer and manure that runs off farmland and properties in the Lake Erie watershed is a key solution to mitigating the severity of blooms.

However, after years of voluntary agricultural programs to develop comprehensive nutrient management plans, in addition to best management practices to reduce runoff and the amount of nutrients transported to the lake, we have yet to see the uptake that is needed. .

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We also know that implementing more green stormwater infrastructure will reduce the combined sewer overflows in Lake Erie that occur during heavy rain events in densely populated urban areas.

Essentially, in some areas our stormwater and wastewater sewers are connected. When flooded by heavy rains, sewage runs into the lake.

We believe that green infrastructure designs, such as permeable pavers and green roofs, or natural infrastructure solutions, such as tree canopy and wetland restoration, can have positive impacts for Lake Erie.

This infrastructure helps us restore a more naturalized water cycle in urban settings, helping to reduce the amount of phosphorus from sources such as sewage that runs into the lake.

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It’s also crucial that we take action to address global warming because the truth is, algal blooms love warm water. This means Canada and Ontario need a robust climate mitigation strategy that includes phasing out fossil fuels and prioritizing grid electrification.

Both the federal and provincial governments currently lack strong plans, and instead of increasing renewable energy technology, the fossil fuel industry continues to expand.

I, for one, want to enjoy Lake Erie well into my old age. I want to share that enjoyment with generations to come. Industries, developers, elected officials and other decision makers must prioritize Lake Erie and commit to implementing solutions that address the roots of the problem.

We cannot afford delays and we cannot afford band-aid solutions. We need to hold industry and our leadership accountable and demand that they make protecting Lake Erie a priority.

Protecting the health of Lake Erie protects the health of all humans and animals that live in this beautiful watershed.

Michelle Woodhouse is a water program manager at Environmental Defense, a national advocacy organization that works with government, industry, and individuals to advocate for clean water, a safe climate, and healthy communities.