TOLEDO, OH (WHTC) – Lake Erie has always had a problem with too much algae, but now Ohio’s government is asking neighboring states to help clean it up. The Holland Sentinel reports that Ohio’s governor John Kasich and Director of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency is pleading with all of its neighbors to stop dumping in Lake Erie.
Ohio officials say pollutants are flowing into the lake from farm fields in Michigan and Indiana, septic tanks from southern Canada, and Detroit’s wastewater plant. The phosphorus in those pollutants are causing the toxic algae blooms and gives the lake a sour green color. Last fall, the states began sharing $17.5 million to reduce farm field runoff.
Officials from Ohio’s neighbors are looking for guidance on how to improve the water quality even more.
– Caitlyn Burry
