{"id":741184,"date":"2022-07-12T10:45:00","date_gmt":"2022-07-12T10:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grist.org\/?p=578019"},"modified":"2022-07-12T10:45:00","modified_gmt":"2022-07-12T10:45:00","slug":"toxic-algal-blooms-are-driving-up-water-costs-in-the-great-lakes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2022\/07\/12\/toxic-algal-blooms-are-driving-up-water-costs-in-the-great-lakes\/","title":{"rendered":"Toxic algal blooms are driving up water costs in the Great Lakes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
On August 2, 2014, the residents of Toledo, Ohio, a port city on the shores of Lake Erie, woke up without clean water. Testing had detected elevated levels of microcystin \u2014 a potent liver toxin and possible human carcinogen<\/a> \u2014 in the city\u2019s drinking water supply, and for three days, residents were told not to drink, bathe in, or even touch their tap water. The toxins were traced to a harmful algal bloom, or HAB, a potent green sludge made up of microscopic algae and bacteria that had sprouted in the shallow waters of the lake. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Alicia Smith remembers that day. Nearly half a million people lost access to drinking water, and 110 got sick<\/a>, experiencing headaches<\/a>, chest tightness, muscle weakness, and nausea. Smith is the director of the Junction Coalition<\/a>, a community organization in Toledo that works on promoting environmental justice and economic empowerment for the city\u2019s low-income residents, many of them communities of color. Every August since then, she said, her neighbors worry about whether they\u2019ll lose access to water again as fresh blooms occur. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Beyond the health risks, Toledo residents are paying the price for this ever-present \u2014 and growing \u2014 threat. According to a report<\/a> released in May by the nonprofit Alliance for the Great Lakes, the city of Toledo spends, on average, $18.76 per person annually on HAB-related monitoring and treatment, which adds up to nearly $100 for a family of five per year. That cost, generated from data from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, is passed on to ratepayers, making water bills even less affordable for many residents, Smith said.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n