Lessons from the Toledo water crisis

Raise a glass to Toledo - it is safe to drink the water. They have finally removed high levels of microcystin, courtesy of an algae bloom on Lake Erie, from the water supply.

It is crystal clear that the water purification system on Lake Erie cannot handle a massive algal bloom. It is equally clear that the costs are high when our public water systems are shut down for any extended period of time. The fabric of daily life is torn asunder. Sadly, these threats to our water supply are expected to increase in the future.

If you want to understand just how unprepared we are for the environmental consequences of stupid human tricks, look no further than Toledo.

Now that people can drink the water again, the messaging in the media makes it seem like a set of unfortunate circumstances. From the AP:

The chances of another water emergency over the next few months will depend a lot the winds, rains and temperatures that dictate how large the algae grow and where algae blooms end up.

"To some degree, there are only certain things we can control," said Craig Butler, director of Ohio's Environmental Protection Agency. "What is possible is making sure systems taking water from Lake Erie are being very vigilant with the treatment process."

The state experts want to focus your attention on the treatment side and ignore the very factors that encouraged the algal bloom in the first place.

What role the algae-induced toxin played in fouling the water supply for 400,000 people in and around Toledo is being investigated, as is the city's aging water supply system and how it operates. But researchers believe winds pushed the algae right to where Toledo collects its water from the lake.

"When they bloom and it's right over our intake, we're at its mercy," said Ed Moore, Toledo's public utilities director. "This is Mother Nature we're dealing with. This was out of our control."

Mother Nature was just hormonal. Meanwhile, everyone is concerned and wants to upgrade water treatment processes. More testing. Add a carbon filter or two. As for root causes, zilch.