Communities around Ohio are increasingly finding bodies of water turning toxic in late summer. Phosphorous runoff from farms creates conditions that feed harmful blooms. It’s happening repeatedly at Chippewa Lake in Medina County, which currently has an advisory indicating toxic levels that could kill pets and injure people.
Medina County Parks Director Tom James said the toxin levels have naturally fluctuated all summer and that staff are analyzing the samples to improve water quality in the future.
“It’s a difficult situation for all agencies that are dealing with harmful algal blooms. If there was an easy solution, somebody would have already found it,” he said.
In the latest water test on September 4, toxin levels measured three times the level deemed safe.
The advisory states that people and animals should avoid all contact with the water.
