Our reporter, Drew Simon, is in Toledo covering the water crisis. He will be reporting the latest today on News Center 7 at 4:30, noon and 5 p.m. and on News 95.7 and AM 1290 WHIO on Miami Valley’s Morning News beginning at 5 a.m. Also check daytondailynews.com throughout the day for continuing coverage on how the community is coping with this water emergency.
UPDATE:
The mayor has asked those who were under the ban to conserve water, so the system is not overloaded as it re-opens.
Toledo Mayor D. Michael Collins said there is “no one simple answer” to what caused the algae issue that led to the ban.
“We have had a real experience for basically almost 72 hours now,” Collins said. “Have we learned from it? Yes we have. Families can return to normal life.”
Collins said experts will gather at the University of Toledo for a forum on the issue, as a starting point to address it.
“We have not been good stewards of that natural resource,” he said. “And I will not be one to stand by and say that we have because that would be inappropriate and it would be disingenuous.
“We now as a result of this must recognize the fact that we sit with 20 percent of fresh water supply of the entire planet at our doorstep,” he said. “And if we hesitate to respect that, then we are going to jeopardize this entire corridor of our United States for the future of our children.”
Collins said he saw a “silver lining” out of the “disaster”: that Ohio now has one standard, simply test to use across Ohio.
UPDATE: 9:41 a.m.
Toledo Mayor D. Michael Collin just announced that the city’s water ban has been lifted.
The mayor said, “Our water is safe.”
He is holding a press conference right now.
We will update this story with more information as soon as it’s available.
EARLIER INFORMATION:
Soldiers and airmen from the Ohio National Guard 371st task force delivered more than 190,000 bottles of water to residents in the Toledo area on Sunday and similar efforts are expected to continue today.
Gov. John Kasich activated the National Guard on Saturday after a toxic algae bloom was detected in the Toledo public water system affecting an estimated 400,000 people in the area. Residents in the states’s fourth-largest city and surrounding area were banned from drinking, brushing their teeth, bathing or washing dishes with the water which could cause vomiting, cramps and rashes.
Guardsmen, including the 371st based out of Springfield, deployed to Lucas, Wood and Fulton counties delivered water purification systems, bottled water pallets and ready-to-eat military meals.
Community members worked alongside the airmen and soldiers to help distribute the water said Maj. Katherine Cherolis, a Ohio National Guard public affairs officer.
“It’s the epitome of the guard,” she said. “Us working with the community and the community supporting us.”
Each person was given at least three gallons of water, according to Cherolis.
In addition to the National Guard, the Toledo region received water donations from several areas around the state.
Reiter Dairy in Springfield sent 8,000 gallons of water to the city of Perrysburg, a Toledo suburb.
Kristy Dearth, a Perrysburg resident and a University of Dayton graduate who lives with her two small children and husband, Eric, said people are traveling to Lima, about a 90-minute drive, to get water.
“We went to my sister’s house last night and on the way home, none of the restaurants have been open,” she said. “All of the shops have been closed … It’s kind of a surreal feeling … We don’t even know when the water’s going to come back on.’’
Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley said she called Toledo Mayor D. Michael Collins on Saturday night and offered some of the city’s water trucks, but he said that wouldn’t be necessary.
Kroger bottled water shipments destined for other regions were rerouted to Toledo, according to the Associated Press.
A Piqua church collected 12,000 bottles of drinking water on Sunday to send to the Toledo area.
People started dropping off cases of bottled water and gallon jugs of water at Piqua Christian Church, located at 3969 W. State Route 185, Saturday night. The 160-member church already sent more than 500 cases on Sunday, and will truck more on Monday morning. It is headed to the Western Avenue Ministries in South Toledo, said Jeff Ratliff, the church’s associate minister.
The mission is out of water, which it needs to prepare the meals it serves, and it also needs water to distribute to the community, he said.
“So far we’ve heard, particularly in the area of South Toledo where the poverty rate is high and our missions partner serves, is people, a lot of them don’t have cars so they can’t travel to water distribution points.”
For those who are able-bodied, Ratliff said it can mean up to an hour-and-a-half walk to a distribution point.
“Then when they get there they’re having to wait three, four hours for water and there is no guarantee that they’ll get it,” he said.
The church will continue to collect water throughout the week so it can send another truck on Saturday.
In Dayton, city officials said there is no reason for residents to have concerns about local drinking water.
Tammi Clements, the city water director, said the last time city water was tested for microcystin — the toxin produced by some blue-green algae — in 2013, the toxin was not detected. The city plans to test the water again in the upcoming weeks.
Blue-green algal blooms are most prevalent in lakes, ponds, and reservoirs such as Great Lakes St. Mary’s, Clements said. Conditions such as increased temperatures and high nutrient load, which can be more prevalent in lakes and ponds, contribute to the growth of these blooms.
“It is unlikely that we would find this toxin in groundwater,” she said.
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