Thirsty it the Toledo area

[1930fordpickup]

I have always thought these people were a little off. Well this morning my sister calls me and says do not drink the water . We have a problem with our local water supply. This is around a half a million people in the Toledo Ohio area that cannot use our water to cook with or drink. So far they are saying that a filter will not work and boiling it will only make it worse. This from the news web site.

Lake Erie, which is a source of drinking water for the Toledo water system may have been impacted by a harmful algal bloom (HAB). These organisms are capable of producing a number of toxins that may pose a risk to human and animal health.

For the whole story.

http://www.13abc.com/story/26178497/urgent-message-from-city-toledoans-asked-not-to-drink-or-boil-water

Now I have a small supply of water and I also have a well that an outside hose is hooked to but I live by myself so I am not worried. But this makes me wonder what would happen on a larger scale as in a much bigger city.

[Quick GMC]

Yeah its pretty serious. Apparently people have flooded the neighboring town of Oregon because they have their own water supply

[1930fordpickup]

Every town within a 1/2 hour drive has been raided.

[Tom Geiger]

We lived in our New Jersey town for over 30 years and never had a power outage for more than a few hours. We move to Pennsylvania and my daughters left back in that same NJ town have endured two evacuations for hurricanes, one with a one week power outage, the second with a two week outage. AND two summers ago they broke something at the reservoir that provided water to the entire area. Water did run from their tap, but there were warnings not to drink it. So I did what any good father would do, I took the seats out of the Caravan and filled it with bottled water here in PA and drove it there for them.

[MeatMan]

I've been procrastinating on getting containers to have the 72 hour emergency water supply. I think this might get me going as we use the same lake for water!!!

[Dave Van]

It happened just last year to an entire region in our state and no one was too worried.....unless you lived here.

A deadly chemical spill just north of Charleston WV polluted the water supply for every town downstream.....Charleston, South Charleston, St Albans, Huntington and all cities between. Zero water to drink or even wash with. But because it was a bunch of hillbilly's not much was said of it.

It is horrible to loose water supply.....we know very well.

[High octane]

Andy, I just saw on the 10 o'clock news about the water problems in Toledo, and that's not good. I hope that things get better with the water supply real soon.

[Joe Handley]

It happened just last year to an entire region in our state and no one was too worried.....unless you lived here.

A deadly chemical spill just north of Charleston WV polluted the water supply for every town downstream.....Charleston, South Charleston, St Albans, Huntington and all cities between. Zero water to drink or even wash with. But because it was a bunch of hillbilly's not much was said of it.

It is horrible to loose water supply.....we know very well.

Rachel Maddow covered that for a while on her MSNBC show.

[Dave Van]

Rachel Maddow covered that for a while on her MSNBC show.

You are correct......and a few FOX stories on it too.

But it affected almost half the states population, heavily concentrated along the Kanawha, but mainline media like NBC and CBS network news almost ignored it. Believe me....I know who bad it is in Toledo right now.......tough time.

[1930fordpickup]

Well we have been blessed with have water sent in from all over.

We still can not drink or boil the water . We can wash with it unless you are sick, old, or an infant.

This could go on until October off and on.

[Joe Handley]

Good that you guys are getting some help there, that has to be horrible.

[Ace-Garageguy]

Odd how the good ol' USA USED to have a seemingly endless supply of clean, safe water. It was one of the things Americans could pretty well take for granted, living in a highly "civilized" country.

My, how things change, with all this " technological progress".

I understand the National Guard is now distributing drinking water in the area, and that the "algal bloom" blamed for the contamination is attributed to agricultural runoff containing nutrients the little algae thrive on.

A permanent fix may well take a long time to achieve, including significant changes to how agriculture is managed in the Lake Erie watershed.

From the AP:

The toxins that contaminated the drinking water supply of 400,000 people in northwest Ohio didn't just suddenly appear.

Water plant operators along western Lake Erie have long been worried about this very scenario as a growing number of algae blooms have turned the water into a pea soup color in recent summers, leaving behind toxins that can sicken people and kill pets.

In fact, the problems on the shallowest of the five Great Lakes brought on by farm runoff and sludge from sewage treatment plants have been building for more than a decade.

While residents around Ohio's fourth-largest city were being told to avoid drinking tap water for a second day, discussion began to center around how to stop the pollutants fouling the lake that supplies drinking water for 11 million people.

Full story here: http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/tests-needed-ohio-city-water-back-24824800

Edited August 3, 2014 by Ace-Garageguy

[1930fordpickup]

Just gave us the all clear to drink the water. I will wait a bit . Still have some bottled water .

[Tom Geiger]

Just gave us the all clear to drink the water. I will wait a bit . Still have some bottled water .

I'd be drinking the bottled water for a while myself. I'd make sure the pipes all get flushed out good, and don't forget to flush out your water heater, and same with your refrigerator ice maker. Note that they said heating up the algae would produce toxic results.

Edited August 4, 2014 by Tom Geiger

[slusher]

I saw on the news they was going to try carbon to the water but im don't know if that's right. They had some ideas. We can really don't realize some thing until they go wrong...

[1930fordpickup]

I'd be drinking the bottled water for a while myself. I'd make sure the pipes all get flushed out good, and don't forget to flush out your water heater, and same with your refrigerator ice maker. Note that they said heating up the algae would produce toxic re

I saw on the news they was going to try carbon to the water but im don't know if that's right. They had some ideas. We can really don't realize some thing until they go wrong.

Thanks guys , I will be holding off the city water for a bit . The do not boil was the kicker for me, that is always the best way to clean water.

carbon filtering is what the City of Oregon is using and they do not have the problem, but they filter much less water and have a newer system.

[DynoMight]

I heard Cleveland was sending water to the Toledo area... Hey, perfect time for a vacation haha

[Harry P.]

Looks like the water has been given the all clear.

What a nightmare. Toledo is a fair sized city... but imagine if that would happen to one of the really big cities on the Great Lakes like Toronto or Chicago. Panic city!!!

[1930fordpickup]

Harry it did start a small panic very early Saturday morning . But that was all done before 9 in the morning. They sent out text as early as 3:30 AM, so people went out and cleaned out the water very early and people had nothing left to fight over. Yes there were a few scuffles but they were short lived and People calmed down. Others simply went out and bought a truck load of water and drove home with it and passed it out free of charge. The Major stores all sent all the water they could get our way. All the water within a two hour drive was gone by 1:00 . And you are right this was only a town of 400,000 plus. If this happened to a town of say 1 Million I would not want to be there when it happened.

[Harry P.]

If that happened here I have no doubt people would be shooting each other for water.

[Deano]

If that happened here I have no doubt people would be shooting each other for water.

Well, of course they would; they shoot each other for lesser reasons.