Thirty five million people get their drinking water from one of the Great Lakes. For years, these glacial reservoirs have been a reliable, safe source of water. But in 2017, the City of Toledo, Ohio had to tell its residents not to drink or even boil water coming from the city taps. The culprit: an enormous algae bloom in Lake Erie that overwhelmed Toledo’s water intake. Even worse news is that, with rising temperatures, more rainfall and more nutrients running into the water, conditions become perfect for algae growth. So, what’s the prognosis for drinking water near the Great Lakes? Gabriel Filippelli is the Director of the Center for Urban Health and Professor of Earth Sciences at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis and Joseph Ortiz is the Assistant Chair of the Geology Department at Kent State University. Both joined Monday Buzz host Brian Standing on Monday, May 4th, 2020.
Do not drink, do not boil
Monday, May 04, 2020