For the past 66 years of his life, Ohio farmer Ronald Wyss visited Grand Lake St. Mary's — about two hours northwest of Columbus — with his family for their yearly reunion. Wyss grew up swimming and boating in the lake every summer, but because of harmful algal blooms, he and his family no longer enjoy the lake the same way they used to.
Microcystin is a toxin created by blue-green algae and is a by-product of harmful algal blooms. Exposure to it can lead to breathing problems, skin damage and liver damage, according to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
Those harmful algal blooms — overgrown algae colonies fueled by excess nutrients from manure and fertilizer runoff from nearby farms — were the topic of discussion at an event put on Thursday by students in the Moritz College of Law's Rule of Law class.
Jay Payne, a law student in the Rule of Law class, said the goal of the event was to bring differing ideologies into one room and talk about the controversy over how to manage harmful algal blooms, known as HABs.
The event highlighted the perspectives of both farmers and environmentalists, who are often perceived to be on opposite sides.
Water quality has been a hot topic in Ohio in recent years, especially in Lake Erie where Ohio State's Stone Laboratory is located. In 2014, increased levels of microcystin forced part of the city of Toledo to briefly shut off its water. Nearly half a million people were without water for two days, according to the Toledo Blade.
Wyss, who is also a member of the Lake Erie Foundation's board, told the audience in Drinko Hall that his advocacy for the health of Ohio's water came from his experiences at Grand Lake St. Mary's and as a farmer in the midwest.
"I realized that I was a part of the problem," Wyss said.
Wyss said he saw firsthand how farms could contribute to the issue of nonpoint source pollution. Extra manure and fertilizer applied to farmland is washed into waterways when rain falls, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
But sometimes the algae growth gets out of hand, creating HABs that are harmful to both wildlife and human health.
One way to slow the progression of nonpoint source pollution is to provide farmers with good information, said panel member Yvonne Lesicko, vice president of public policy for the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation.
The Ohio Farm Bureau Federation is a farmer advocacy group that supports farmers and promotes conservation.
To allow them to see the impact of their work, Lesicko and her organization took 150 farmers to Stone Laboratory, Ohio State's research lab located on Gibraltar Island in Lake Erie.
"They could go up on a boat, see what the researchers were doing and see what the impact was of what [the farmers] were doing," Lesicko said.
Four other management strategies for HABs developed by Lake Erie scientists — four of which do research for Ohio State — include conducting more farm soil tests, inserting fertilizer below the surface to reduce above-surface runoff, controlling erosion with cover crops and minimizing the amount of water that leaves the farm.
But, Wiggins said many programs have been cut because of a "skinny budget" in the federal government. President Donald Trump's proposed EPA budget would cut all funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, which was initially $300 million.
"We have to ensure that resources continue to flow from top to bottom and ensure that rules that are developed are fair across the board," Wiggins said.
A Q&A session concluded the event. Law student Clair Bullock asked how to get individuals with no connection to Lake Erie to care about water quality issues.
Wiggins answered by addressing the HABs in Toledo in 2013 and in 2009 in Grand Lake St. Mary's.
The single greatest cause of algae blooms are from livestock factory farm runoffs. There are very few environmental regulations regarding factory farm runoffs from big ag and with this new EPA, it is only going to get worse. Rob Portman's vote for Pruitt with the quick decision to end Great Lake protections, really puts Lake Erie into jeopardy.
The single greatest thing to do your part of helping this disaster is to stop eating meat and vote for leaders that are willing to protect the environment. Ag gag is devastating practice that needs to end.