Ohio drinking water emergency

Since algae grow faster in warmer water, we are likely to see more of this as the world warms.

www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/08/03/toledo-toxins-water/13539145/

A toxin discovered in a northwestern Ohio treatment plant left 500,000 people scrambling for drinking water for a second day Sunday.

Toledo Mayor D. Michael Collins said preliminary testing showed toxin levels were improving at the city's plant, but he said officials were awaiting more results before determining if the water is safe to drink.

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The water problem was complicated because boiling the water, a common tool to combat contamination, only serves to make the toxin more concentrated, officials said.

Collins blamed the contamination on algae in Lake Erie, the city's main water supply. Once the tap water is ruled safe, he said officials will try to figure out how to keep the problem from happening again.

"Once we clear this problem up, that is not going to eliminate the algae problem in the western basin of Lake Erie, that is not going to elminate the agricultural runoff, that is not going to eliminate mega-farming. That is where we have to go, it's not simply looking at the (water treatment) system."

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