The water may once again be safe in Toledo,but Senator Charles Schumer says that city's recent drinking water ban should be a wake-up call.
In May, Schumer told reporters at the Erie Basin Marina in Buffalo that the conditions were "ripe" for a record toxic algae bloom this summer on Lake Erie. While that may not be the case yet, residents in Ohio's 4th largest city were told not to drink the water this past weekend.
Back in Buffalo Monday Schumer said he's still pushing to have the Environmental Protection Agency require every community that draws its water from Lake Erie to monitor for toxins that come from blue green algae. He says there's also money in the farm bill to deal with harmful runoff from farms and factories.
"They ought to start distributing that money right away. It helps farmers deal with phosphates...that's what blue-green algae thrives on," Sschumer said.
Representative Chris Collins, a member of the Great Lakes Caucus in Congress, says fresh clean water is crucial for life. But Collins, a Clarence Republican, says he's opposed to spending more money to fix the problem.
"I would say the word 'increase' is not in the vocabulary of Washington any longer, not with our deficits and debt. It's an issue of prioritizing."
Compared to Toledo, Collins says Buffalo is "in a much better place."