In the aftermath of Toledo, Ohio and its 400,000 residents having to go without water for almost three days because of toxins created by algae in Lake Erie, officials are now investigating to see what they can do to help keep the water supply safe.
“This is not just one community issue, this is the whole lake,” said state Rep. Dave Hall.
Intensive chemical treatments had to be made to the Toledo water system and in Lake Erie to reduce the level of algae-created toxin in the water level. While the toxin was not completely removed from the water, it was reduced to a level that is safe to drink.
Governor John Kasich, who had declared a state of emergency for three counties around Toledo as many communities had pulled water from the Toledo system, said that he would launch an investigation to see if the problem was really the algae blooms or if there were significant problems within the Toledo water system itself.
Some residents said they’re waiting to use the tap.
“I’m waiting for two or three days,” Aretha Howard, of Toledo, told FoxNews. “I have a pregnant daughter at home. She can’t drink this water.”
Residents of Ohio’s fourth-largest city endured a weekend when the water coming from their taps was nothing but toxic trouble.
Officials with Toledo, Ohio announced early Saturday morning that the 400,000 residents of the city needed to avoid drinking, bathing or cooking with the water because of the amount of toxin in the water from an algae bloom in Lake Erie. The city obtains its water from a pipe two and a half miles into the lake.
Mayor D. Michael Collins announced the ban just after 3 a.m. Saturday. He said an algae bloom that normally does not move into the area of the water intake at this time of year was pulled in because of high winds and waves. A satellite image of the lake showed the algae bloom centered right around the water intake.
The Ohio National Guard brought filtration systems and large shipments of bottled water into Toledo for residents. Governor John Kasich declared a state of emergency that ended Monday morning when the water was determined to have a safe level of algae related toxin.
Water plant operators along western Lake Erie have been concerned about the amounts of phosphorus going into the lake for years. They have been able to compensate for blooms in past years but this year’s early blooming was unexpected.
The city was dealing with reports of price gouging. One Toledo television station found a discount store selling bottled water at twice the normal price.
A major city in western China is in a panic after government officials said the tap water in the city is toxic.
Government officials in Lanzhou say that excessive levels of benzene have been found in the water system. The amount of benzene is reportedly 20 times the acceptable limit to not be a toxic threat to someone who consumes it.
Benzene has been linked to leukemia and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
“Consuming foods or fluids contaminated with high levels of benzene can cause vomiting, stomach irritation, dizziness, sleepiness, convulsions, and rapid heart rate. In extreme cases, inhaling or swallowing very high levels of benzene can be deadly,” the American Cancer Society said.
Lanzhou is a city of 2.5 million people and witnesses report panicked residents flooding into stores to stock up on bottled water.
Chinese officials would not name a source for the toxic levels of the chemical in the water but a source inside the government told the Daily Telegraph that there was a spill from an unnamed chemical plant.
A 2012 study found that 60 percent of the groundwater in China is “heavily polluted.”
The city of Wichita Falls, Texas, is still in the middle of exceptional drought conditions and looking at a drastic measure to provide water to their residents.
The city is in the process of testing a plan that would take water from the city’s wastewater plant and pipe it directly to the water treatment plant. The water would be given “extra cleaning” and then placed into the water system for consumption by residents.
The plan should put five million gallons of water into the system if everything works as planned and the system is approved by the state. The city’s water usage, which has fallen from 50 million gallons of water a day to 12 million a day through conservation efforts, would need cut further without the additional water.
The city’s main water source for the town, Lake Arrowhead, is only at 27 percent capacity. Boat docks in the lake are so far from the water’s edge that they stand 10 to 15 feet above water level.
Residents told CBS that while they’re not necessarily excited about the idea of using toilet water for drinking, but it’s better than not having any water.
Parts of the Mississippi River were shut down Sunday and remained closed Monday after a weekend collision spilled gallons of sweet crude oil into the river.
A 65-mile stretch of the river is closed to traffic and a Coast Guard spokesman said they are working with local officials and cleanup crews to see when the river might be able to re-open to traffic.
As of Sunday night, 26 vessels were waiting to go up or down river. Officials stopped barge traffic in an attempt to keep the oil from spreading in the river and to keep the oil from contaminating passing vessels.
A barge being pushed by a tugboat collided with another barge carrying grain to cause the spill.
Public drinking water intakes on the river were shut and local officials say they were closed in time to keep the oil from contaminating drinking water systems.
The Port of New Orleans is closed because of the spill although two cruise ships were permitted to leave the ports to being their sea voyages.
West Virginia officials announced late Monday they were going to start lifting the water ban for communities impacted by a massive chemical spill.
Governor Earl Ray Tomblin said that a “rolling lift” of the ban would take place to avoid having the water system overtaxed by everyone returning to the system at one time. A mass return would also cause more water quality problems.
Up to 10,000 residents were allowed to use the water system Monday with an additional 25,000 on Tuesday. Officials with West Virginia American Water said it could be a few more days before all customers could return to the system.
Customers were warned that while the water may continue to have an odd odor, it is safe for use in bathing, cooking and cleaning.
Health officials say only 14 people have been admitted to hospitals because of exposure to the tainted water and none are in serious condition. In addition, the river has not seen a fish kill or animal deaths from the contamination.
It was a very long, hard weekend for hundreds of thousands of West Virginians still dealing with the massive chemical spill in the Elk River.
Residents say they have been taking bottled water and food to elderly neighbors and shut-ins as emergency services aren’t meeting the needs of their communities.
“They can’t get out,” Chris Laws, 42, of Marmet, a coal miner, told the Associated Press. “I’m keeping an eye on them. You got to watch out for your neighbors. They’re the ones who are going to watch out for you.”
State officials said Saturday that they now estimate 7,500 gallons of chemicals leaked from a tank at Freedom Industries. They had previously told media sources that only 5,000 gallons had leaked from the tank. They could not say how many gallons made it into the Elk River.
Residents of the capital city Charleston and surrounding towns are still being told not to use tap water for any purpose.
Investigators from a West Virginia Fire Department and the state Department of Environmental Protection found the source of a chemical leak that contaminated the water for up to 300,000 residents in West Virginia.
The source was a leak from a 48,000 gallon storage tank located along the Elk River. The storage tank is a source of water for the 1,500 mile pipeline that carries water to customers throughout central and southwestern West Virginia.
Although the source has been found, this did not solve the problem. More than 1,000 calls were placed in four to five hours to the 911 center, 24 of those calls were for emergency medical services who took approximately five people to local hospitals.
Local business owner, Patricia Peal, not only had to close her floral shop, but also told CNN how the chemical spill is affecting West Virginia citizens.
“It’s all very hectic. You don’t even want to go to the grocery store. I think everyone is in a panic.”
A chemical spill in West Virginia’s Elk River has put 300,000 area residents at risk.
Federal officials are descending into the Charleston area to investigate the leak. The chemical release has poisoned the water supplies for nine counties.
Schools and restaurants were forced to close and residents ordered by Governor Earl Ray Tomblin to not drink, bathe, cook or wash clothes using tap water because of the chemicals in the water.
The extent of the damage has not been able to be determined.
The chemical is a foaming agent used in the preparation of coal. The leak at Freedom Industries somehow broke through a containment area and rushed into the river. A spokesman for the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection said that no more than 5,000 gallons of the chemical escaped into the water.
Officials could not say how long the advisory against using the water will be in effect.
Officials in the San Francisco area are trying to fill all area reservoirs quickly before ash from the ongoing Rim Fire near Yosemite National Park taints their water supply.
The massive fire is now roughly the size of the city of Chicago. Despite firefighters getting the blaze at least 15% contained, the flames are within a mile of the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir which feeds San Francisco. Continue reading →