Greta Jimenez
Lake Erie is the smallest and shallowest of the Great Lakes, and it is also the most biologically productive. It is bordered by Ontario, Canada, and the US states of Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York. By the 1960s, the lake had become extremely polluted, in part due to heavy industry and agricultural runoff. This has resulted in increased levels of phosphorus and nitrogen, contributing to eutrophication and severe algal blooms, which have negatively impacted the lake's tourism industry and fishery. While collaborative efforts between the US and Canada have led to some improvements, Lake Erie continues to face challenges, with toxic algae blooms threatening both human health and the ecosystem.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Lake Erie Pollution | Point source and non-point source pollution |
| Point Source Pollution | Industrial waste, oil, floating solids, heavy metals, sewage treatment plants |
| Non-Point Source Pollution | Agricultural runoff, urban runoff, sediment loading, trash, algal blooms |
| Causes of Point Source Pollution | Industries along the lake's main tributaries, factories, heavy industry |
| Effects of Point Source Pollution | Increase in toxic materials in fish, fish die-offs, health problems in the region, beach closures |
| Efforts to Address Pollution | Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, Clean Water Act, improved sewer systems, water filters, monitoring |
| Current Status | Lake Erie turns toxic every summer, public health and ecosystem at risk |
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What You'll Learn
Industrial and agricultural pollution
Lake Erie is the most populated of all the Great Lakes basins. It is largely agricultural, intensively industrialized, and highly urbanized. Of all the Great Lakes, Lake Erie is exposed to the greatest stress from urbanization, industrialization, and agriculture.
Agricultural Pollution
The Clean Water Act, passed in 1972, tightened regulations on industrial dumping. However, loopholes in the Act shield agricultural operations from similar federal enforcement. As a result, agricultural pollution continues to be a major issue for Lake Erie. Farms in the region produce over 760 million gallons of phosphorus-rich manure each year, which runs off into the lake. This manure, along with commercial fertilizer, provides nutrients such as phosphorus that fuel harmful algae blooms. These blooms, also known as cyanobacteria or red tide, can persist for weeks during the summer and create "dead zones" where oxygen levels are depleted. The excessive algal growth in Lake Erie threatens the ecosystem and the health of the 12 million people who rely on the lake for drinking water.
Industrial Pollution
Lake Erie has a long history of industrial pollution, with factories dumping pollutants into the lake and its waterways since the 1960s. While regulations have been put in place to reduce industrial dumping, the lake continues to be impacted by industrial activities. In recent years, the industrialization of livestock production has been identified as a significant source of water-quality issues. The concentration of large animal factories in small areas has led to an excess of manure, which contributes to nutrient pollution in the lake.
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$14.75
Sewage and fertilizer runoff
Lake Erie is the shallowest and smallest of the Great Lakes by volume. It is also the most biologically productive of the Great Lakes due to its basin shallowness and warmer temperatures. The lake is divided into three basins, with the western basin being the most turbid region of the lake, as most of the lake bed is covered with fine sediment particles that are easily disturbed by wind and wave action.
Lake Erie is exposed to significant stress from urbanization, industrialization, and agriculture. It receives the highest amount of effluent from sewage treatment plants and is subjected to substantial sediment loading due to the underlying geology and land use. Exposed agricultural and urban lands, particularly in southwest Ontario and northwest Ohio, contribute significantly to the lake's sediment load.
Fertilizer and manure runoff from farms, feedlots, and lawns are significant sources of phosphorus, providing fuel for cyanobacteria and contributing to harmful algal blooms. Environmental regulators have been reluctant to impose stricter requirements on farmers, even as they tightened regulations on factories and sewage treatment plants, which are smaller contributors to the issue.
To address the problem of fertilizer runoff, some states, like Ohio, have passed laws prohibiting farms in the western Lake Erie region from applying fertilizer to frozen or rain-saturated soil. Additionally, innovative farming practices, such as those implemented by Williams, aim to reduce the risk of fertilizer runoff by using winter crops to unlock nutrients in the soil, allowing for less fertilizer use in the spring.
Despite these efforts, Lake Erie continues to face challenges with nutrient pollution, and more widespread adoption of conservation practices is needed to protect the lake's ecosystem and the drinking water supply for the millions of people who depend on it.
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Eutrophication and algal blooms
Eutrophication is a process that encourages the development of algal blooms. It is caused by increased levels of phosphorus and nitrogen in a body of water. In the case of Lake Erie, these increased levels of phosphorus and nitrogen were due to a variety of point and non-point sources, including agricultural runoff, sewage treatment plants, and industrial discharge.
Agricultural practices, such as the use of fertilizers and manure, contribute to the excess phosphorus in Lake Erie. When it rains, these fertilizers and manure are washed into streams that flow into the lake, fueling algae growth. This type of pollution is known as runoff pollution, and it has been identified as a major contributor to Lake Erie's algae blooms.
Sewage treatment plants also discharge effluent into Lake Erie, adding to the nutrient load. The lake receives the highest amount of effluent from sewage treatment plants compared to the other Great Lakes. Industrial activities, particularly in the heavily industrialized cities surrounding the lake, have also historically contributed to the pollution of Lake Erie. Factories dumped pollutants directly into the lake and the waterways that flowed into it, with little government oversight.
The combination of these sources of pollution has resulted in eutrophication and severe algal blooms in Lake Erie. These blooms have negative consequences for the ecosystem and human health, as they create "dead zones" where oxygen depletion leads to massive fish kills. The blooms also impact the tourism industry and fisheries that depend on the lake.
To address the issue of eutrophication and algal blooms, regulatory agencies in both Canada and the United States implemented phosphorus loading reduction strategies through the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. While these strategies initially led to a decrease in open lake phosphorus concentrations, recent years have seen record-setting algal blooms and associated "dead zones." This suggests that further action is needed to mitigate the impacts of eutrophication and algal blooms in Lake Erie.
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Toxic pollutants and heavy metals
Lake Erie is the most biologically productive of the Great Lakes due to its shallowness and warmer temperatures. However, it is also the most vulnerable to pollution from urban and agricultural runoff, as well as industrial waste.
The lake's watershed is largely agricultural, intensively industrialized, and highly urbanized, with about one-third of the total population of the Great Lakes basin residing within it. The lake provides drinking water for about 11 to 12 million people in the US and Canada.
During the 1960s, water quality issues in Lake Erie became a significant concern, with the lake becoming predominantly polluted by the end of that decade. This was largely due to heavy industrial activity along its shores, with factories dumping chemical pollutants into the lake and the waterways that flowed into it, such as the Cuyahoga River and the Detroit River. The lack of substantial government oversight at the time allowed waste, pesticides, fertilizer, and sewage from surrounding cities, industrial plants, and agriculture to contaminate the lake.
This pollution resulted in increased levels of phosphorus and nitrogen, contributing to eutrophication and encouraging the development of algal blooms. Dead fish washed up along the shoreline, and the lake earned the moniker, "Lake Erie is Dead." Even today, Lake Erie continues to face pollution issues, with toxic algal blooms persisting during the summer months and negatively impacting the lake's tourism industry and fishery.
Studies have found that Lake Erie has been subjected to heavy metal pollution, with anthropogenic inputs of heavy metals paralleling the increasing intensity of human activity in the lake basin. The sedimentary record reveals that pollution sources contribute high levels of cadmium, copper, lead, and zinc to the lake's sediments, with flux rates exceeding pre-colonial data by 80-600%. These heavy metals can have detrimental effects on the ecological food chain and human health, causing issues such as cancer, birth defects, and damage to the nervous and immune systems.
The sources of these heavy metals include industrial activities, such as factory discharges, sewage plants, and smokestacks, as well as agricultural runoff and urban land exposure. The high population density and diverse land use within the Lake Erie watershed contribute to the lake's vulnerability to these toxic pollutants and heavy metals.
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Efforts to reduce pollution
Lake Erie, the southernmost Great Lake, has been a target of pollution for decades. The lake, which has shores in several states, including Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and the Canadian province of Ontario, is the source of drinking water for around 11 to 12 million people. It is also a favourite destination for tourists and recreation enthusiasts. However, due to its high concentrations of industrial facilities and agriculture, it has long been vulnerable to pollution.
1960s and 1970s
In the 1960s, water quality issues in the Great Lakes became a concern, and Lake Erie was perceived to be "dying". The highly-publicised incident of the Cuyahoga River, which flows into Lake Erie, catching fire in 1969 brought negative attention to Cleveland and its polluted waterways. This incident, along with the phrase "Lake Erie is dead", which started to appear in national publications in the late 1960s, sparked a national movement against water pollution.
By the late 1960s, Canadian and American regulatory agencies agreed that limiting phosphorus loads was crucial to controlling excessive algal growth, and a coordinated lakewide approach was necessary. As a result, open-lake phosphorus concentrations declined due to joint efforts.
In 1972, the Clean Water Act was passed, tightening regulations on industrial dumping. The United States and Canada also signed the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement that year, aiming to reduce pollutants entering the Great Lakes.
2010s
In 2014, a massive algal bloom forced the city of Toledo to warn its citizens against drinking tap water for three days. This incident prompted ELPC and Advocates for a Clean Lake Erie to sue the U.S. EPA for failing to enforce the Clean Water Act. As a result, the Ohio EPA declared western Lake Erie impaired in 2018, leading to the development of a clean-up plan called a TMDL (Total Maximum Daily Load), which outlines pollution limits.
Ongoing Efforts
The Lake Erie Waterkeeper organisation and its executive director, Sandy Bihn, have been advocating for the lake and its watersheds since 2004. They have helped reduce phosphorus from Detroit wastewater outputs by 50% and are working to expand protection and access to the Erie Marsh. Additionally, the Environmental Law & Policy Center (ELPC) is partnering with local researchers to examine pollution sources along the Maumee River basin and develop science-based policy solutions to reduce agricultural runoff.
Despite these efforts, Lake Erie continues to face pollution challenges, particularly from industrial-scale agricultural operations and manure runoff.
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Frequently asked questions
Lake Erie is the most stressed of all the Great Lakes due to urbanisation, industrialisation, and agriculture. The lake is exposed to sewage treatment plant effluent, sediment loading, and agricultural runoff.
The pollution in Lake Erie has led to the death of fish and made swimming hazardous. It has also impacted the taste and odour of drinking water supplies and forced beach closures. The lake's critical $12.9 billion tourism industry and world-class fishery are also negatively affected.
In 1972, the United States and Canada signed the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement to reduce pollution in the Great Lakes. Local governments have also taken steps to improve sewer systems and monitor water quality.
Yes, there have been improvements in water treatment and fish populations since the implementation of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. However, toxic algae blooms continue to threaten human health and the ecosystem.
Individuals can support organisations advocating for the lake, such as the Lake Erie Waterkeeper, and push for stricter regulations on pollutants. Reducing the use of pesticides and fertilisers in agriculture can also help mitigate nutrient pollution in the lake.
