Thread: Lake Erie algae toxin water advisory impacts Michigan, Toledo residents

Lake Erie algae toxin water advisory impacts Michigan, Toledo residents

10:14 AM, August 2, 2014
By Robin Erb
Detroit Free Press Medical Writer

Toxins detected in the water system in Toledo, Ohio has residents along Michigan’s southeast border under a water advisory in which they’re instructed not to drink the water, even if it has been boiled.

The source may be a toxic harmful algae bloom in Lake Erie, according to the city’s Facebook page .

“…(I)n fact, boiling water can worsen the situation. Water should not be given to pets,” reads the notice.

Drinking the contaminated water containing the algal toxin, microcystin, may result in abnormal liver function.

Residents have been advised to contact a doctor if they have consumed the water and feel nauseous, are vomiting, feel dizzy or numb. Vets are to be contacted if pets or livestock appear sick.

Even contact with the water can trigger a rash, the advisory reads.

Chemists testing water at Toledo’s Collins Park Water Treatment Plant detected microcystin in excess of the recommended 1 micro-gram per liter standard and a notice was posted on the city’s Facebook site overnight.

By 8 a.m., the normally quiet Kroger store was packed in Michigan's Lambertville, a suburb of Toledo. Customers were waiting when it opened at 6 a.m.

Lambertville mother of three, Jen Feck, loaded up her cart with bags of ice in the nearly-empty ice machines. Her sister had called her early, so she immediately cut off the water in the house so her toddlers wouldn’t drink or play in the tap water.

“We had to turn all the water off in the house because they constantly are turning the water on to wash their hands –you know,hygiene,” the Chrysler employee said. With no water left in the store – a hand-written sign at the entrance made it clear to customers – she planned to melt the ice.

Outside an ice truck had just pulled up. Its driver had been asked to make extra runs today.

http://www.freep.com/article/2014080...ning-Lake-Erie

Climate Change and European Marine Ecosystem Research, a group of 17 European marine institutes, produced a 200-page report in 2011 that drew connections between climate change, the increasingly warm ocean waters, and the spread of water-dwelling bacteria.The report predicted millions in future healthcare and environmental costs as a result of exposure to contaminated food by humans and marine animals. Researchers focused primarily on bacteria from the genus of Vibrio, which they considered to be by far the most dangerous, causing gastroenteritis, septicemia, and cholera.

http://thinkprogress.org/health/2014...r-experts-say/

@ Flesh-eating bacteria rampant in Florida waters

Why 400,000 people in Ohio can't drink the water

A toxin in the water, possibly algae from Lake Erie, sent people scrambling to buy water. Toledo, Ohio, residents were advised not to even shower or boil the water.

By John Seewer, Associated Press AUGUST 2, 2014


TOLEDO — About 400,000 people in and around Ohio's fourth-largest city were warned Saturday not to drink or use its water after tests revealed the presence of a toxin possibly from algae on Lake Erie.

The warning left residents across the Toledo area searching for water after they were advised not to shower with it or boil the water because that would only increase the toxin's concentration. The city also advised against drinking water filtered by in-home filters.

People bought carts full of bottled water, bags of ice and flavored water, emptying store shelves within hours of the advisory that was issued overnight.

Recommended: 10 organizations that protect the environment

"It looked like Black Friday," said Aundrea Simmons, who stood in a line of about 50 people at a pharmacy before buying four cases of water. "I have children and elderly parents. They take their medication with water."

10 organizations that protect the environment

Toledo issued the warning just after midnighton the city's Facebook page after tests at one treatment plant showed two sample readings for microsystin above the standard for consumption.

The city's advisory said Lake Erie may have been affected by a bloom of harmful algae that produces the toxin and warned that it could make residents ill.

The advisory covers city residents and those in Lucas County served by the city's water supply. The city said more tests are being run.

Many restaurants were closed because of the water warning and Toledo's public school system canceled all its events Saturday.

The University of Toledo closed its campus for the day and encouraged students who are from outside the Toledo area to return to their homes.

Operators of water plants all along Lake Erie, which supplies drinking water for 11 million people, have been concerned over the last few years about toxins fouling their supplies.

Almost a year ago, one township just east of Toledo told its 2,000 residents not to drink or use the water coming from their taps after tests on drinking water showed the amount of toxins had increased.

That was believed to be the first time a city has banned residents from using the water because of toxins from algae in the lake.

The Toledo Blade reports:

Chemists testing water at Collins Park plant found two sample readings for microcystin that exceeded the recommended “do not drink” standard of one microgram per liter standard.

What is a microcystin?
Algal blooms, often caused by the addition of nutrients to a water body, are made up of cyanobacteria, commonly called blue-green algae. Some cyanobacteria can produce toxins, called cyanotoxins. Although many blooms contain non-toxic species of cyanobacteria, lab tests are needed to determine whether a bloom is toxic or nontoxic. Some cyanotoxins can be toxic for humans, animals and plants.

Most water treatment plants along the western Lake Erie shoreline treat their water to combat the algae. The city of Toledo spent about $4 million last year on chemicals to treat its water and combat the toxins.

The annual algae blooms have been concentrated around the western end of Lake Erie. The algae growth is fed by phosphorous mainly from farm fertilizer runoff and sewage treatment plants, leaving behind toxins that can kill animals and sicken humans.

Related Stories

• 
  10 organizations that protect the environment
• How big will Lake Erie's algae bloom be this summer?
• Cleaning up US waterways: 5 success stories
• Bacteria release billions and billions of 'food parcels' into oceans, say scientists
• Are Asian carp reproducing in the Great Lakes?

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Latest-News-Wires/2014/0802/Why-400-000-people-in-Ohio-can-t-drink-the-water

http://www.alipac.us/f19/flesh-eatin...waters-308433/

RELATED

http://www.alipac.us/f19/religious-c...change-308466/

RELATED

http://www.alipac.us/f19/7-things-yo...-water-308767/

http://www.alipac.us/f19/lake-eries-...de-ago-308770/

'Our water is safe,' Toledo mayor says in lifting ban

By Faith Karimi and Mark Morgenstein, CNN
updated 10:24 AM EDT, Mon August 4, 2014
Your video will play in 28 secs
STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: "The families can return to normal life," Toledo mayor says of water ban
• Tests showed high levels of toxins in two Toledo neighborhoods
• Microcystin, a toxin caused by algae blooms, found in the water system

Were you in the affected area? Please go to CNN iReport to share your perspective.

(CNN) -- A tap water ban affecting hundreds of thousands of people in Ohio was lifted Monday after tests in affected neighborhoods returned "nondetectable" levels of a algae-related toxin, Toledo Mayor D. Michael Collins said.

"Our water is safe," Collins said. "The families can return to normal life."
Residents and businesses that did not use their water at all -- not even for showering or washing hands, both of which were allowed under the ban -- will need to run their water first to help flush their systems, Collins said, but "if you've been using water all along, just go on with life."

Collins said the city would provide details later Monday about flushing systems.

Residents of Ohio's fourth-largest city were told to avoid using their tap water all weekend after the state and federal Environmental Protection Agency showed high toxin levels in the East Toledo and Point Place neighborhoods, Collins said earlier Monday.

Water for Toledo residents

Instead of isolating the two neighborhoods, Collins kept the ban on drinking or using tap water in the entire city until additional retests were completed. He declined to provide specifics on the names of neighborhoods in question and how high the toxin levels were.

As many as 400,000 people were told not to consume, cook with or boil the tap water after a toxin called microcystin was found Friday in the water supply.

Toledo's drinking water comes from Lake Erie, where a harmful algae bloom that causes microcystin has been growing.

The city set up distribution centers for potable water, where members of the Ohio National Guard, fire officials and other first responders were giving out safe water.

About 350 Ohio National Guardsmen were activated by Ohio Gov. John Kasich, according to a U.S. Defense Department official, adding that they set up three reverse osmosis water purification unit sites at two high schools and a police facility. The guardsmen also delivered ready-to-eat meals, the official said.

Lining up for water

About two-thirds of the Toledo area was affected by the water warning. Kasich issued a state of emergency for Fulton, Lucas and Wood counties. The potential contamination also affected four municipalities in Michigan, CNN affiliate WXYZ-TV in Detroit reported.

There were no reports of anyone getting sick from the water, officials said.

When certain conditions are present, such as high nutrient or light levels, algae can reproduce rapidly, forming a dense population known as a "bloom," according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Testing was crucial because NOAA says it can't determine just from images whether blooms are toxic.

Ingestion of the toxin can affect the liver and cause nausea, diarrhea, vomitingand acute liver failure, according to NOAA. But the Ohio Emergency Management Agency said it was safe for adults to shower and for everyone to wash their hands.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/04/us/tol...html?hpt=hp_t2