Lake Erie Is Dead: Pollution In Ohio

Lake Huron is one of the most polluted fresh water lakes in America. It covers about 189 000 kilometers squared, and it is a component of the Lauretian Great Lakes. It drains to the Atlantic Ocean through St. Lawrence River. It receives an inflow from Lake Michigan and Lake Superior, while it drains to Lake Erie. The population surrounding the lake is about 3 million, which also contribute to its pollution (Ylvisaker 28).

Introduction: The purpose of this research is to determine whether there has been a change in the overall water quality of the Lake Tarpon Basin, and if so, whether the quality has improved or worsened. The variables that will determine whether the quality has changed are: nutrients (phosphates and nitrates) and dissolved oxygen (DO). The expected changes are lower dissolved oxygen levels (from the already low levels), higher nitrogen levels (from the already high nitrogen levels), and the state qualifications still are not met for nutrients and dissolved oxygen (Levy, Flock, Burnes, Myers, Weed, River 2010). This topic relates to environmental management because the changes in water quality would be due to pollution, which relates to the question “How does human activity lead to the pollution of water stores?” The hypothesis that will be tested is that Lake Tarpon’s water quality will have worsened since the last measurements by Levy, Flock, Burnes, Myers, Weed, and Rivera in 2010.

The Canadian and US governments are working together on solutions to treat pollution and habitat destruction, as well as overfishing and

Having lived in Maryland all of my life, I’m extremely surprised by the amount of pollution that happens in my home state. The first example of water pollution that I’ve found is the Inner Harbor in Baltimore. I haven’t visited the area recently, but according to an article by author Alex DeMetrick, it has the dubious reputation of being one of Maryland’s polluted sections. DeMetrick states that “Trash is the most obvious pollutant, but that’s only the surface problem. A lot more spills out of storm drains.” (DeMetrick, 2011). Not only is the issue of trash and sewage affecting the area’s environmental stability and visual appeal, but is also taking a toll on income and revenue as well. One of the main attractions of the inner Harbor is its

There are many problems in Ohio that require attention for them to be solved. One of our main problems in Ohio right now is the level of algae we have in our lakes and rivers. Having algae in our lakes and rivers is dangerous for our present and future. Having our community drink water with algae in it can get people sick and poisoned. There have been many large algae blooms within these past few years, and having no preparations for the algae in the water caused immense panic in the community. There were stores that limited one case of water per customer, and most stores didn’t even have any water after only a couple hours, while the tap water wasn’t safe for only three days. Given that we didn’t know how long the algae would be in our water, no one was prepared and officials couldn’t tell us exactly when the water would be clean again. Most of the phosphorus that causes the algae to grow comes from our crops, like corn and wheat, being fertilized. This algae causes terror in our community and causes people to react in terrible ways. We need to have a solution figured out so that the terror stops and our families are safe. Having no water is one of the worst situations for so many people to be in when they aren’t prepared for it. This is an issue not only for our community, but for our whole country.

Prior to 1948, an assortment of inconsequential laws were in place to govern water pollution. One example of this could be found in the Rivers and Harbors Appropriations Act of 1899 under a section titled the Refuse Act. While this was specifically written towards the prevention of dumping materials that may interfere with boating, it did indirectly lessen the pollution of waterways (Digest of Federal Resource Laws 2015). During these times, the ridding of waste into channels of water was viewed as the most practical method. Water pollution was beginning to becoming visibly troublesome, however World War II became a more pressing issue of that time (Berry 1969). After the war ended, the contamination of lakes, tributaries, and rivers, including the Mighty Mississippi, continued to evolve as a health and environmental hazard.

Cleveland and other cities Factories dumped pollutants into the lake and the waterways and fertilizer and pesticides from agricultural runoff without much government oversight. Waste from city

People hear about issues and events that happen in America every day. Unfortunately every issue or problem does not receive the necessary media attention. One of the roughest cities in the United States, Detroit, Michigan is being affected by pollution. Detroit Wastewater Treatment Facility is the largest source of discharge into the river with 47 billion gallons of diluted sewage water dump into the Detroit River. 10.1 millions of toxic substance was dumped in the great lakes (Matthews, 2013.para.7). Due to the unstable environment Asthma, Cancer, and birth defects are at its peak. This is because of the factories built in the city next to the lower class neighborhoods. There has been cases where a local neighborhoods has been affected by

In order to have a thriving and healthy society a clean water supply is a very simple but necessary resource. Dating back to the beginning of civilizations the need for clean water was an essential need. The Clean Water Act dates to Franklin D Roosevelt’s administration. In 1972 Congress amended and passed what is now known as the Clean Water Act to protect our precious resource of water. The clean water Act prevented the dumping of pollutants into navigable waters without a permit. Many municipalities and commercial entities had previously dumped sewage and unregulated waste in to our rivers and streams contaminating a great percentage of our drinking water. This wreck less contamination of our waterways not only affected humans but also affected our wildlife including fish and animal’s life that depended on these waters. Any municipality or company that could affect our waters would need to apply for a permit to do so. While the Clean Water Act was a landmark legislation that was supported by both Democrats and Republicans alike over the years has seen expansion of the EPA’s interpretation of the law and has created a controversy in Administrative Law that has many challenges up to the Unites States Supreme Court. (Television, n.d.)

The Midwestern region of the United States, such a small corner of the world, is notorious for its prosperous agriculture and its abundant livestock population. Citizens of the Midwest, and consequently, the United States, rarely have to worry about where meals will come from or when the next time water will be available. Water fountains are a common sight within public places, specifically schools and workplaces, and each system reliably produces water at the touch of a button, every time, without fail. However, what happens when the dependability of water in the Midwest is compromised? Over the past decade, the water quality in Flint, Michigan, a town very close to Iowan homes, has seen a rapid decadence, given that the Flint River has been exposed to “the presence of fecal coliform bacteria, low dissolved oxygen, plant nutrients, oils, and other toxic substances,” though the main focus has

as others, but all are harmful. They vary due to the amount they contain of

This situation may arise if humanity does not take steps to mend its polluting tendencies. To begin with, each individual should focus on decontaminating his or her nearest water body. For those living in Delaware, the nearest major water body is the Delaware River, which is in dire need of reform. “The Delaware River, . . . is the fifth most-polluted river in the country, according to a report released . . . by Environment New Jersey” (Augenstein). However, this issue did not arise spontaneously. A recognized problem by the early eighteenth century, Delaware River pollution remained a serious issue for the next 300 years. This mostly originated from rapid population growth and booming industrial activities (“Delaware River Water Quality”). As the years progressed, Delawareans continuously disregarded the Delaware River, and now it is immensely polluted due to an accumulation of neglect for the river. Residents polluted the river without repercussions until the river’s deterioration began to adversely affect them. Because of this, Delaware waters continued to befoul past the line of safety. “Severe pollution was most evident by the prevalence of waterborne illnesses and in the sharp decline of migratory fish populations” (“Delaware River Water Quality”). Delaware waterways are currently unsafe for commercial use due to the presence of pollutants and parasites like Giardia and Cryptosporidium in the water. These can cause significant health problems, especially in

Recently, algal blooms have once again impacted the western part of Lake Erie with unhealthy, sometimes toxic, green slime. The water issues are impacting many cities, They have to buy water from other cities. Most people boiled their water and then freezed it to make sure that is safe to drink. By boiling the water it gets rid of most of the chemicals or anything that could harm themselves. Our major water source is critical and needs to be protected at all

The Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) (P.L. 80-845, 62 Stat. 1155) of 1948 was the first major law enacted by Congress to address the problems of water pollution in the United States (n.d). Legislators created over 100 bills in an attempt to pass legislation over the previous half century, but were not successful. Industrial and urban growth caused by World War II in 1948, led to obvious, notorious pollution of the country's rivers, streams, and lakes, urging Congress to finally address the issue. Unfortunately, the act was not designed well enough to achieve the goals set out to address the issue. It did not ban pollution, only gave limited power to the federal government, and provided an extremely awkward enforcement mechanism. The Federal Water Pollution Control Act was not successful in preventing and reducing water pollution. Pollution continued to increase because of the federal government's inability to require any direct reduction in discharges. As a result, the quality of the nation's waters had no improvement. On the other hand, the act established a popular and political support for pollution control efforts. Congress rewrote the act in 1972 to provide more acceptable protection for the nation's waters. It also established the basic agenda for water pollution control, which was amended by Congress afterwards. Congress made changes to the act six times before rewriting it in 1972.

Water pollution has been an issue for decades here on Earth. Wildlife that lives in or near the ocean are being harmed because of all the trash and waste in the water. For Example: 70% of industrial waste are being dumped into water. Because of all this industrial water, 64% of lakes are not clean because of water pollution, 44% of streams are not clean because of pollution, and 30% of bays are not clean because of water pollution. In 1978, the Amoco Cadiz oil platform spilled over 220,000 tons of oil off the coast of France. This resulted in the death of many species of wildlife around the world. When humans make big mistakes causing natural disasters, the wildlife are the ones that usually pay the price. The people of the United States can reduce water pollution by picking up other people’s trash that is left on the ground, stopping people from draining oil from their vehicles into sources of water, and getting rid of the use of pesticides and other fertilizers.