Reports says immediate cleanup efforts necessary
Excessive phosphorous from fertilizer, manure run-off affecting water quality
Large parts of Lake Erie were regarded as dead waterway in the late 1970s until drastic measures helped nurse one of the Great Lakes back to health.
Now again, if “bold actions” are not immediately taken to address excess phosphorus from fertilizer and manure runoffs on both sides of the border, the lake will return to being in grave danger, said a report released Tuesday by the International Joint Commission.
“Back in the 1970s and 1980s there was a major effort to clean up the nutrients that was largely successful,” said Matthew Child of the joint commission, who coauthored the 89-page report that focuses on the shallowest portion of Lake Erie.
“We need to address this issue with new policies and actions because so much of the west basin (of Lake Erie) is agricultural. We were successful before and we can be successful again.”
But if immediate government strategies are not introduced to address phosphorus from fertilizer and manure applications entering Lake Erie, the western basin will soon return to the same unhealthy state as nearly 50 years ago, the report said.
The IJC assessment was launched in 2016 after algae blooms two summers prior forced the shutdown of the water intake in Toledo, Ohio, and tainted much of the lake’s water quality. The assessment was conducted by the commission’s science advisory board with assistance from other specialists.
“The risk (of not acting quickly) is worsening conditions that we have experienced with the algae issue and loss of ecosystem,” Child said.
“It will not be a lake to be enjoyed — people won’t want to go to the beach, fish or interact with it. There are consequences to human health. There can be major disruptions to people’s lives with a threat to drinking water like we saw in Toledo and Pelee Island in 2014.
“The implications can be severe. We need to be vigilant in addressing this. The longer we put it off, the more costly it will be.”
Findings in the commission report indicate the farm sector, to its credit, has not increased the volume of fertilizers being used over the past couple of decades and has done a decent job in co-operating on various strategies to address the problem.
But there has been inconsistent strategies, regulations and data collecting in various locations across the lake on both sides of the border, making efforts inconsistent, said Child, who is with the IJC’s Great Lakes regional office in Windsor.
The study also concludes much of the nutrients finding its way to the lake through run-off in some cases has been in the ground on farmland for decades and continues to be problematic.
Climate change and larger storms are also an issue as sewage plant systems are often unable to handle the water volumes which go directly into the lake.
Lyle Hall, president of the Essex County Federation of Agriculture, said a group that recently formed regionally on the Canadian side to deal with the issue should hopefully soon address the problems.
There are over two dozen members of the Thames River Phosphorus Reduction Collaborative representing every county along Lake Erie, from Essex County east to the London area, he said.
“We just started a year ago and have been looking into the historic end of things so we know where we need to go,” Hall said.
The group’s next meeting is in March and he expects by late summer or early fall the group will reveal its own strategies to combat Lake Erie’s woes.
“We definitely do not want more regulations unless they are science-based,” Hall said. “We are working on this so there will be no need for more (government) regulations. We will self-regulate.”
The IJC report calls for a unified approach from all stakeholders and governments involved with Lake Erie’s phosphorus issues to bring greater consistency in assessing the data and management efforts. The two federal governments need to take the lead, with involvement by officials from the province, U.S. states, conservation authorities and agriculture sector.
“This needs to be addressed with great urgency,” Child said. “Ultimately, this is the responsibility of governments of Canada and U.S. They need to ensure there is strong co-ordination, greater investment and performance metrics in place so there is accountability.
“There is no silver bullet. But the symptoms of the lake are clear evidence what we are doing now isn’t enough. This report offers suggestions on what we can do more.”
The IJC is a binational agency that advises the two federal governments on trans-boundary water issues and helps mediate disputes.
There is no silver bullet. But the symptoms of the lake are clear evidence what we are doing now isn’t enough.