Lake Erie’s health needs all our help

Much has been tried in recent years to control the toxic algal blooms that show up in the western basin of Lake Erie. But progress has been slow, and it has become clearer each summer that more will need to be done before the lake’s health improves.

Ohio should have sent out an SOS sooner, but this week’s decision by Gov. John Kasich and the Ohio EPA to get Lake Erie added to the impaired waters list was the right call.

The impairment designation, if allowed as part of a two-year evaluation of all state waterways mandated by the Clean Water Act, will require the state to work with the U.S. EPA to develop a specific plan to remediate the algae problem . ...

The voluntary measures could become mandatory under the impaired designation, which came out through a draft of the EPA’s water quality report on Thursday.

Some state legislators and several environmental groups had been pushing for the designation in hopes it would pave the way for increased pollution regulations. It finally came after consultation between the EPA, the Kasich administration and experts from Bowling Green State University, among other organizations . ...

Last summer’s bloom showed Ohio is still losing the battle with toxic algae. The lake won’t cure itself. It needs all the help we can give it.

Read the full editorial from the Findlay Courier at bit. ly/2GqFiqd