Oregon to buy equipment to test water's algae content

'We want to make sure we are always on top of best practices, so we are going to invest in equipment so we can test in real time for microcystin,' Oregon Administrator Mike Beazley says. DIANE HIRES / BLADE Enlarge

With higher levels of toxic algae present in Lake Erie, the city of Oregon plans to spend up $10,000 for its own testing equipment.

"Obviously, the algae blooms of this year are presenting a challenge all across northern Ohio and we are taking it seriously," Oregon Administrator Mike Beazley said Wednesday. "We want to make sure we are always on top of best practices, so we are going to invest in equipment so we can test in real time for microcystin, the toxin from algae that can make people sick."

The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency is conducting weekly tests of 11 public drinking water systems that draw their wa-ter from Lake Erie's western basin to see if they are contaminated with blue-green algae.

Those sites include Toledo, Oregon, Carroll Township, Ottawa County, Marblehead, Kelleys Island, Put-in-Bay, Middle Bass Island, Sandusky, and Huron.

Mr. Beazley said the Oregon city administration wants quicker results by conducting its own tests.

"We already test for the things that are regulated, but this is not regulated," he said. "This is a new challenge for communities along the lake and we want to make sure we are ready to provide good, clean water for our residents."

Algal toxins in drinking water are not regulated by the Ohio EPA nor the U.S. EPA, and drinking water with those toxins could result in abnormal liver function, vomiting, diarrhea, nausea, dizziness, or numbness.

A first round of tests released last week by the Ohio EPA revealed tiny levels of microcystin in treated waters in Oregon and Carroll Township. However, those levels were well below guidelines established by the World Health Organization. There are no EPA regulations on algal toxins in drinking water.

Microcystin was found to be in the treated waters in Oregon at 0.23 part per billion and 0.16 part per billion in Carroll Township, according to the test results released last week.

Of the 11 systems sampled by the Ohio EPA, eight had low levels of microcystin present in the untreated water. Levels ranged from 0.24 part per billion to 3.7 parts per billion. Microcystin in the raw water at Oregon was 3.1 parts per billion and 1.3 parts per billion at Carroll Township.

Tests conducted Friday, however, did not show any detectable levels in Oregon's treated drinking water, Mr. Beazley said.

The blue-green algal blooms have been clogging filters of the Put-in-Bay water treatment plant, slowing down the treatment process at the height of the tourist season.

An extra 60,000 gallons of water a day is being shipped to the island by ferry from the mainland because the troublesome algal blooms have hampered the water plant's ability to produce as much clean drinking water as it usually does.

Contact Ignazio Messina at:

imessina@theblade.com

or 419-724-6171.