TOLEDO WATER AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Lake Erie Algae Bloom Matches Climate Change Projections; The bloom that poisoned Toledo's waters may become more common as the waters of the Great Lakes warm

Brian Kahn and Climate Central, August 5, 2014 (Scientific American)

"A two-day ban on drinking water has been lifted in Toledo, Ohio. But the toxic algae bloom that led to the ban is still floating around Lake Erie and ones like it could become more common as the climate continues to change in a warming world…Nutrients in agricultural runoff is the biggest contributor to algae blooms in Lake Erie. What brings that runoff from farm fields to the lake is rain, and lots of it [according to Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory ecologist Timothy Davis]…An increase in heavy rainfall is already being seen throughout the U.S. The Midwest has seen a 37 percent increase in the amount of rain falling in heavy precipitation events since the late 1950s… Heavy rainfall events are projected to be 4-5 times more common [in areas along Lake Erie] by 2100…[I]ncreased water temperatures are [also] a factor that not only contribute to more toxic blooms, but blooms that can last longer…[which is why] the risk of waterborne illnesses in the Great Lakes region is likely to increase in the coming decades…[A] combination of northerly winds and currents helped trap [this year’s] bloom near where the Maumee River brings the majority of nutrients into the lake and right where Toledo’s water intake happens to be…” click here for more

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