Lake Erie Algae Bloom Crisis Is Putting Pressure On Ohio, Farm States To Tackle Agricultural Pollution Problems

On the shores of Lake Erie, the immediate sense of crisis has passed. Following the toxic algae that bloomed in the lake earlier this month, forcing residents of Toledo, Ohio to rely on bottled water for their drinking supply, authorities now offer assurances that the tap water is safe.

But a gnawing fear remains in communities along the lake. The algal bloom has intensified concerns about its apparent source -- pollution washing off surrounding fields in the form of fertilizer and manure. Not without reason, people worry that more outbreaks could emerge at any time.

Im still drinking bottled water, said Jessica Morelli, a nursing mother who skipped showers the weekend of the tap water shutdown, worrying shed get a skin infection that she could potentially pass on to her 8-month-old daughter. People are still kind of leery. If it could make you so sick one day, how could it be normal so quickly again?

Volunteers unload drinking water from a truck outside Waite High School in Toledo, Ohio on Aug. 3, 2014. Reuters

Around the nation, similar worries have become a part of everyday life as communities grapple with growing volumes of pollution spilling into waterways from livestock and farming operations. Though talk of industrial pollution may summon images of belching smokestacks, the agricultural expanses producing meat, dairy, grains and vegetables are today so enormous that they can generate quantities of water pollution rivaling cities. Yet the rules governing this pollution still generally treat farming as something other than an industry.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency does not regulate agricultural runoff, leaving such effluent to be governed by local agencies whose philosophies and standards vary from state to state. State rules and enforcement are often lax, environmental policy experts assert, in part because pushback from agricultural lobbying interests, but also because of limited funding and staffing at regulatory agencies.

"The states to date have had a very ineffective response on what to do about this, Brad Klein, a senior attorney at the Environmental Law and Policy Center in Chicago, told International Business Times. Were hoping that situations like Toledo provide a wake-up call that this could happen anywhere, and that its happening with increasing frequency.

Last year alone, 20 states reported nearly 150 separate toxic algal blooms in lakes rivers and ponds, including 10 in Ohio and 50 in New York, according to National Wildlife Federation data. While industrial waste, sewage from septic tanks and lawn fertilizer also contribute to the problem, agriculture is the biggest source of the phosphorous and nitrogen that nurture harmful blooms. If ingested, certain types of algae-born toxins can cause fevers, vomiting and diarrhea. Direct skin contact can cause hives, blisters and rashes.

Scientists peg the increasing incidence of algae blooms to a mix of factors that seems set to intensify in coming years, ratcheting up the risk of more. Farmers are relying more on so-called dissolved phosphorous fertilizers, which they apply directly to the soil rather than till into the ground. Left on the surface, these fertilizers are more prone to being washed into surrounding waterways. Climate change threatens to bring more severe rainstorms, which would carry larger volumes of runoff into streams and overflowing sewer systems.

All of this is happening just as agriculture is growing in some states. In Ohio, sales of corn, soybeans, wheat, poultry, hogs and milk collectively soared to $10 billion in 2012, up 42 percent compared to five years earlier, according to the latest federal Census of Agriculture.

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Lake Erie Algae Bloom Crisis Is Putting Pressure On Ohio, Farm States To Tackle Agricultural Pollution Problems