TOLEDO, OH (WTOL) - The focus at the Toledo Metropolitan Area Council of Governments General Assembly meeting Monday was water, more specifically the health of Lake Erie.
The keynote speaker from the Ohio State University Stone Lab of Ohio SeaGrant, Chris Winslow, told the audience of decision makers that they cannot wait for Ohio EPA to deem the Lake Erie impaired.
Winslow says major changes have to happen now to reduce the amount of non-point source nutrient runoff from getting into the lake.
"I have no problem putting an impairment on the lake," Winslow said. "For me, it just does not change the game. Anyone who lives around the lake or in the region knows about the lake, knows it is not where it needs to be. So, whether we officially call it impaired or not, does not really matter."
Winslow says cooperation with farmers in the region is a big step in reducing the amount of nutrient runoff that can lead to the large, harmful algae blooms.
