Letter: Water quality problems ignored by GOP (The Lima News)
Excerpt: It was interesting to read Jim Jordan talk about issues, including the recent outbreak of algae on the western basin of Lake Erie that shut down Toledo for a few days.
He also mentioned Grand Lake St. Marys but that is “a little different, being for recreation and outdoor activities.”
I wonder if Jordan and a lot of his other counterparts just don’t know or need to be told that Celina gets its drinking water from Grand Lake.
Excerpt: "My biggest expense is fertilizer," said Herringshaw, who has implemented conservation practices to reduce phosphorous runoff. "It is in everyone's best interest that I do as efficient a job as possible.
"I think every farmer will tell you that. If we put on more than we need, that is literally money going down the river."
Excerpt: Even the most-effective system for dealing with algae in lakes won’t solve the problem, however, until the state gets more serious about preventing algae build-up in the first place, by regulating the amount of phosphorus that goes into streams from farm fertilizer, manure and water-treatment plants.
Excerpt: Ohio’s largest agricultural group said Friday it is committing $1 million toward a statewide plan that will show farmers, especially those in the Maumee River watershed, how they can reduce farm runoff that feeds western Lake Erie’s toxic algae with fertilizers made of phosphorus and nitrogen.
“We’ve got a role in fixing the problem,” Joe Cornely, Ohio Farm Bureau Federation spokesman, said. “We want the public to know we hear you. The status quo is not acceptable.”