Ohio Governor John R. Kasich and his administration announced March 18 that they will be investing $10 million in the Healthy Lake Erie Initiative to help combat and reduce the threat of harmful algal blooms.
The initiative was created in 2012 and aims to find alternative solutions to the open-lake dumping of contaminated channel dredging. Toxic algae, specifically microcystin, has appeared in western Lake Erie since 1995 and threatens Ohio’s Lake Erie tourism. According to an article published in the Toledo Blade, last September the toxin became so concentrated that it affected a water-treatment plant in Ohio.
Kasich’s funding will be used to find alternatives to open-lake disposal, which will help reduce toxic algae. The governor’s administration also pledged $100 million for the Clean Ohio Fund.
For more information, visit cleanlakes.ohiodnr.gov.
Photo courtesy of Brenda Culler
