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U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown
Protecting
Ohio’s Drinking Water
Around this time last year, 500,000 Ohioans in the Toledo area were
forced to go without safe drinking water. They were warned they
couldn’t drink the tap water in their own homes.
This is something no family should have to go through, and that should
not be happening in our state.
Cities and towns across Ohio need to have the best, most up-to-date
information on how to keep their drinking water safe. That’s why I’m
proud that this month the president signed our bipartisan Drinking
Water Protection Act.
Toxic algal blooms on Lake Erie threaten Ohio’s drinking water, and
this July the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
predicted the second-largest bloom in recent history.
Our bill will finally require the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
to develop a strategic plan within 90 days for evaluating and treating
water impacted by these blooms.
We know that public water systems get contaminated by algal toxins. We
need to be evaluating the health risk when this happens, and assessing
treatment options. That’s what this plan will do.
I’m also grateful that Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack heeded my call
to release additional Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP)
funding to help protect the western Lake Erie basin from these harmful
blooms and to improve water quality. Last month, I sent a letter to
Secretary Vilsack, and last week the Department of Agriculture released
an additional $5 million in EQIP funds for farmers to plant cover crops
that reduce phosphorus runoff.
We know that agricultural and urban runoff is one of the biggest
contributors to dangerous algal blooms. After months of significant
rain this spring and summer, cover crops could not be planted on tens
of thousands of acres. With the additional funding, more farmers can
use EQIP funding to plant cover crops, helping reduce harmful runoff.
This new funding comes on top of $14 million in EPA funding recently
made available to Ohio communities through the Great Lakes Restoration
Initiative. All of this investment will allow state and local
governments, universities, and non-profit organizations to better work
to prevent runoff in the future. We need to stop runoff before it
starts.
By targeting harmful algal blooms, we can ensure that communities are
prepared to deal with threats to their drinking water systems. Ohioans
deserve the peace of mind that the water coming out of their faucet is
safe for their families to drink.
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