When the evening news warns people not to go swimming or recreate on lakes and other waters, it’s about as good for dealers trying to sell the joys of boat ownership as naming Vladimir Putin humanitarian of the year.
Ever since a summer algal bloom on Lake Erie forced the city of Toledo to issue a do-not-drink advisory in 2014 for the half-million people who depend on the lake for drinking water, the University of Toledo has been working for a decade to find answers and institute protections.
The dangers of high microcystin exposure came to light in the late 1990s, when more than 100 dialysis patients in Brazil developed acute liver failure after being exposed to blue-green algae-plagued waters. But there was little research being done on the public health impact of these toxins.
“This absolutely hadn’t hit anybody’s radar at that time,” says Joan Duggan, an infectious disease specialist and professor of medicine at University of Toledo. “It was in the lake, but it wasn’t something most people — citizens and scientists alike — were thinking about. That changed in 2014, when the drinking water crisis hit the Toledo area because of the high levels of the toxin in both the lake and processed water. Accordingly, there has been an explosion of research in this area in the last decade, and we’re just starting to get our hands around a number of critical research questions for microcystin.”
While predictions are calling for moderate levels of algae in Lake Erie this summer, the situation is still not good, according to scientists with the International Joint Commission. Plus, the progression from a very warm winter warmed the surface waters of the Great Lakes to the highest temperature in the past four years, which promotes algae development.
“Many questions are being tackled by a multidisciplinary team of researchers here at U-Toledo,” Duggan says. “We’re investigating how the toxins affect individual organ systems, potential ways to test for exposure, and how various routes of exposure to harmful algal toxins may impact human health.”
Commonly called blue-green algae, this label is a misnomer because the algae is actually a type of photosynthetic bacteria called cyanobacteria, and it’s found in freshwater ecosystems around the world. And while many types of cyanobacteria are harmless, some release powerful toxins, including microcystins.
Lake Erie’s shallow western basin is like so many other lakes and waterways that warm easily. Moreover, they may be polluted by phosphorus and nitrogen runoff from fertilizers and confined animal feeding operations. In Ohio, the Maumee River, which flows into western Lake Erie, creates a particularly hospitable environment for summer’s green goop.
The research being done at U-Toledo is a critical undertaking for the future — and for the marine industry. We must understand what algae blooms can trigger (and cannot trigger) and learn to defend against them.
Even more critical is taking action to reduce the release of agricultural runoff and untreated sewage into our waterways. Some states, such as Ohio, have implemented programs to reduce this threat. But these efforts fall short, calling only for voluntary actions on the part of agriculture and feeding operations. And so far, they’ve failed to result in any demonstrable solution to harmful blooms.
There are numerous regulations and methods to treat industrial waste water before it can be discharged. When it comes to agriculture and confined feeding operations, regulatory action is long overdue.
And while marine dealers and business owners don’t normally advocate for regulatory actions, this ship has sailed; it’s time to call for appropriate actions.
