Raise a glass to Toledo - it is safe to drink the water. They have finally removed high levels of microcystin, courtesy of an algae bloom on Lake Erie, from the water supply.
It is crystal clear that the water purification system on Lake Erie cannot handle a massive algal bloom. It is equally clear that the costs are high when our public water systems are shut down for any extended period of time. The fabric of daily life is torn asunder. Sadly, these threats to our water supply are expected to increase in the future.
If you want to understand just how unprepared we are for the environmental consequences of stupid human tricks, look no further than Toledo.
Now that people can drink the water again, the messaging in the media makes it seem like a set of unfortunate circumstances. From the AP:
The chances of another water emergency over the next few months will depend a lot the winds, rains and temperatures that dictate how large the algae grow and where algae blooms end up.
"To some degree, there are only certain things we can control," said Craig Butler, director of Ohio's Environmental Protection Agency. "What is possible is making sure systems taking water from Lake Erie are being very vigilant with the treatment process."
The state experts want to focus your attention on the treatment side and ignore the very factors that encouraged the algal bloom in the first place.
What role the algae-induced toxin played in fouling the water supply for 400,000 people in and around Toledo is being investigated, as is the city's aging water supply system and how it operates. But researchers believe winds pushed the algae right to where Toledo collects its water from the lake.
"When they bloom and it's right over our intake, we're at its mercy," said Ed Moore, Toledo's public utilities director. "This is Mother Nature we're dealing with. This was out of our control."
Mother Nature was just hormonal. Meanwhile, everyone is concerned and wants to upgrade water treatment processes. More testing. Add a carbon filter or two. As for root causes, zilch.
Two factors contributed to this crisis. First, nutrient runoff from industrial farms. There is excess nitrogen and phosphorus running into the lake from aggressive application of synthetic fertilizers and massive animal waste ponds. Second, algae love warmer water. Just image how colorful the algae blooms will be as global temperatures increase rapidly during the last half of the 21st century. Human activity is responsible for this crisis through destructive agricultural and energy practices. The question is whether we have the political will to curb corporate recklessness.
Here is a summary of the scientific assessment of the 2011 Lake Erie algae bloom.
In 2011, Lake Erie experienced the largest harmful algal bloom in its recorded history, with a peak intensity over three times greater than any previously observed bloom. Here we show that long-term trends in agricultural practices are consistent with increasing phosphorus loading to the western basin of the lake, and that these trends, coupled with meteorological conditions in spring 2011, produced record-breaking nutrient loads. An extended period of weak lake circulation then led to abnormally long residence times that incubated the bloom, and warm and quiescent conditions after bloom onset allowed algae to remain near the top of the water column and prevented flushing of nutrients from the system. We further find that all of these factors are consistent with expected future conditions. If a scientifically guided management plan to mitigate these impacts is not implemented, we can therefore expect this bloom to be a harbinger of future blooms in Lake Erie.
Steps taken since 2011 to address nutrient runoff - absolutely nothing.
Lesson three is restating the obvious - our water purification infrastructure is inadequate to filter out toxins rapidly accumulating in our freshwater sources. But that is only part of the story. The weakest link in our water purification system is the human element, namely the willingness of elected officials to put freshwater supplies at risk from industrial waste. It is political corruption hard at work.
You can see that corruption in all of its wretchedness in North Carolina. Tea Party Libertarians in control of state government have gutted environmental protection.
When Republicans took control of the North Carolina legislature four years ago, they promised to do away with environmental regulations they claimed hurt economic growth. But environmental groups say lawmakers have gone too far, gutting laws aimed at protecting the public's health.
In the last few years, GOP lawmakers have scaled back pollution control programs, lifted a moratorium on natural gas exploration using hydraulic fracturing and pushed to remove key scientists and experts from state environmental oversight boards.
In the last week alone, they considered several controversial environmental measures. One would stop the state environmental agency from disclosing complaints and investigations on farms. Critics say that would shield farm operators from public scrutiny and discourage citizens from reporting violations. Another provision tucked in a regulatory reform bill would reduce the number of air quality monitoring stations in communities across the state.
We now have a major political party dedicated to environmental destruction. Nothing is sacred, not even critical freshwater supplies. Industry, agriculture, and energy companies must be free to degrade water quality, leaving taxpayers to foot the bill for mitigation.
Can you imagine the current governor of Ohio doing anything to reduce runoff from industrial farms? I can't. He has already turned Ohio into a fracking wastewater paradise. I am sure he is not going to stand in the way of drilling for oil and gas in the Utica shale formation.
Ohio is home to one of America's best emerging shale plays, the Utica shale. Located right next to the well established Marcellus, the Utica formation offers plenty of upside potential to E&P players willing to take the risk in developing a new area. Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK) holds over 1 million net acres in the Utica, and has already established itself as one of the premier operators in the region.
Tripe digit growth with liquids potential
From 2012 to 2013, Chesapeake Energy was able to quadruple its output from the Utica, which is guided to grow by an astonishing 300% this year versus 2013 levels. In the first quarter of 2014, Chesapeake Energy pumped out 50,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day, or BOE/d, from the play. As of the end of June that had grown to 75,000 BOE/d, and investors should play close attention to management's comment around Chesapeake's Utica production mix.
The bottom line is that the people of Toledo will have to pay much more for their water supply and should expect those prices to rise rapidly during the 21st century. They should also expect more water crises as the conditions that promote algal blooms continue to increase because of lax regulation.
Toledo is a canary in the proverbial coal mine, but just one of many canaries. There is nothing unique about it or the state of Ohio. The same scene is playing out all over our nation. Drink up.