Erie County is conducting special water sampling in Lake Erie along the shoreline to look for the toxic algae that shut down the water in Toledo, Ohio over the weekend. County Executive Mark Poloncarz says those samples are being sent to state labs in Albany Monday for delivery Tuesday and the start of testing.
Poloncarz says the feeling in the Toledo area was that the algae could be controlled by drinking water treatment plans there until they were overwhelmed by cytotoxins. The public told not to drink the water until the all clear was given Monday morning.
Poloncarz says that water from northern Ohio does wind up in Western New York.
"We're going to keep constantly apprised of the situation. We're not going to ignore the situation because unfortunately, what happens on the western end of the lake could impact us on the eastern end. Right now, we have no evidence to believe that the toxins are in the water here in the Erie County and Chautauqua County area, but we'll be doing additional tests throughout the summer to confirm that," Poloncarz said Monday afternoon.
Poloncarz says the lake water is constantly tested by the county and by Albany, particularly in the area around beaches. The county's Bennett Beach is closed Monday because of high levels of bacterial contamination following the weekend's rain.
Senator Charles Schumer says the federal EPA should require every community along the Lake Erie shore to monitor for toxins from blue-green algae. He says the Toldeo situation should serve as a "wake-up call."
"It's not just a state problem, it's a national problem," Schumer said. "Every locality along the waterfront that uses the water should be required to monitor and test and the EPA should come out with guidelines for the best way to monitor and test."
Schumer says there is money in the Farm Bill to deal with toxic runoffs from farms and factories into waterways. He says the money should be distributed "right away" to help prevent phosphates, which the algae thrive on, from getting into the water.
