What caused the Toledo drinking water crisis?

What caused the Toledo drinking water crisis?

Five years ago, toxins from an algal bloom got into the drinking water systems of Toledo, Ohio. On August 2nd, more than half a million Toledo residents were ordered not to drink or even touch their water.

Is Toledo tap water safe to drink?

Toledo’s tap water still meets or exceeds all water quality standards and is deemed “safe,” according to the Drinking Water Quality Dashboard, which is updated by the Collins Park Water Treatment Plant. The plant feeds water to the city of Toledo and many of its suburbs.

How many people did the Toledo water Crisis Affect?

Even five weeks after the crisis ended, a Toledo-Lucas County Health Department survey showed a majority of the affected 500,000 people still were drinking bottled water because they didn’t trust what was coming out of their tap. Today, Toledo has a nearly rebuilt plant.

What contaminant shut down the Toledo water supply for a period of time?

Four years ago, the city of Toledo told more than 450,000 residents to immediately stop drinking water out of the tap. That’s after a toxin called microcystin was detected in the water. The toxin came from a bloom of cyanobacteria that had surrounded the city’s water intake in Lake Erie.

Where is the Toledo water intake?

Toledo water plant draws water from the western basin of Lake Erie, east of the City of Toledo, where massive cyanobacterial blooms frequently occur. This location is about 3 miles from the shore (City of Maumee, the center of the box as shown in Figure 1).

How many people drink Lake Erie water?

eleven million
About one-third of the total population of the Great Lakes basin is in the Lake Erie watershed. Approximately twelve million people live in the watershed, including seventeen metropolitan areas with more than 50,000 residents. The lake provides drinking water for about eleven million of these inhabitants.

Is Toledo water hard or soft?

Toledo water has one grain of hardness. 0-9 grains is considered soft water. Inorganic Chemicals – Examples include things like metals, minerals and salts. NTU – Unit of measurement used to describe water clarity.

Is Toledo Ohio water fluoridated?

This water utility did not exceed the drinking water standard for fluoride but fluoride was found in their water.

Why couldn’t residents of Toledo Ohio just boil their water to make it safe?

Why couldn’t the residents boil their water? Boiling water kills things like bacterial organisms, but it does not get rid of blue-algae toxins. Instead, boiling water decreases the volume of the water, and therefore increases the concentration of the toxins, making it worse.

Where do Microcystins come from?

A: Microcystin is a toxin that is released by some species of blue-green algae, or cyanobacteria.

Where is the water intake on Lake Erie?

The crib, also known as the Kirtland Crib, is the only water intake point for Cleveland’s water system that can be seen above the surface of Lake Erie. The other intakes are entirely below the surface closer to the lake’s floor.

Where is the Toledo intake on Lake Erie?