In 2014, toxins from a Lake Erie algal bloom seeped into the municipal water supply of Toledo, leaving more than 400,000 residents of the Ohio city unable to bathe, cook or drink from the tap for nearly three days.
The crisis kicked off a coordinated effort by states and the federal government to curb the algae across the Great Lakes.
This summer, NOAA predicts a “mild to moderate” toxic algal bloom in Lake Erie. But some are warning that funding cuts in Ohio and federal pullback from monitoring blooms could threaten the progress made to combat the blue-green scum.
The Ohio Legislature just cut the funding for H2Ohio, a statewide water quality program aimed at improving the lake’s toxic algae, from $270 million to $165 million for fiscal 2026 and 2027. Republican Gov. Mike DeWine, who introduced H2Ohio in 2019 and had sought to maintain the higher level of funding, signed the state budget into law late Monday.
