TOLEDO, Ohio – The Kasich administration and at least one northern Ohio lawmaker are turning their taps on full-blast in an effort to prevent another water crisis like the one that left Toledo residents without water for nearly three full days earlier this month.
The state is making $150 million in interest-free loans available so that cities can upgrade water treatment and wastewater plants and the state EPA is kicking in another million dollars for new water-quality testing equipment, according to Gov. John Kasich’s office.
All of the programs announced Thursday will target communities in the Lake Erie watershed and those relying on lakes and rivers for drinking water.
Meanwhile, Senate Minority Whip Edna Brown (D-Toledo) has introduced legislation that would add animal manure to the list of fertilizers covered under a recently-approved law that requires farmers to take classes get certifications for using chemical fertilizers.
Brown says the bill is an extension to SB 150, which was passed earlier this year.
It was nearly two weeks ago that 400,000 people around Toledo were warned not to drink their tap water after it became contaminated by microcystin from a harmful algae bloom (above) near the mouth of the Maumee River blamed partly on agricultural runoff..
The program announced by Kasich’s office includes $150 million in zero-interest loans for local water plant for improvements to local drinking water and wastewater treatment facilities; reconfirming a single statewide testing protocol for microcystin approved by the Ohio EPA and US EPA and $1 million for local water systems for testing equipment and training, and testing support from Ohio EPA’s lab.
It also calls for $1.25 million for farmers to plant cover crops or install drainage-control devices and $4 million for research on algae blooms.