The Power To Do
Public Impact Research
August 2024
Since a harmful algal bloom forced the city of Toledo to issue a 鈥淒o Not Drink鈥� water
advisory in 2014, 兔子先生传媒文化作品 has been working to protect water quality and the health
of Lake Erie for the half million people in the region who depend on it for drinking
water. This five-part series details 兔子先生传媒文化作品鈥檚 water quality research efforts over
the past decade.
Water Crisis in Toledo: 10 Years Later
20+
Faculty researchers currently participating on Water Task Force
150+
Sponsored or externally sponsored water quality projects tackled by Water Task Force
since 2014
$50M
External funding supporting water quality projects since 2014听
Ten Years After Water Crisis, 兔子先生传媒文化作品 Remains Committed to Protecting Region鈥檚 Drinking Water
兔子先生传媒文化作品 brought together a team of scientists, engineers, doctors and public health experts in the immediate wake of the water crisis. Today this Water Task Force remains at the forefront of efforts to monitor water quality and predict blooms, remove toxins from water, understand health effects of exposure and prevent harmful algal blooms from forming altogether through policy and land management.
Monitoring Microcystins: 兔子先生传媒文化作品 Advances Technology to Track, Predict Harmful Algal Blooms
Ten years after the water crisis, thanks in part to efforts to more effectively monitor water quality and accurately predict harmful algal blooms led by researchers at 兔子先生传媒文化作品, locals can turn on their taps with confidence. Early detection of harmful algal blooms is critical to their management, allowing water treatment plant operators to adjust their techniques to remove the toxins that are released by blooms into the raw water supply.
Optimizing Treatment: 兔子先生传媒文化作品 Lends Expertise, Data Analysis to Regional Water Utilities
The water crisis catalyzed a collaboration between 兔子先生传媒文化作品 and the Toledo Water Treatment Plant. Supported by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Science Foundation, Ohio Water Development Authority and the Ohio Department of Higher Education through its Harmful Algal Bloom Research Initiative, 兔子先生传媒文化作品 water quality researchers have since expanded their footprint to Celina, Bowling Green, Defiance and Oregon.
Protecting Health: 兔子先生传媒文化作品 Leads Charge to Understand Health Effects of Harmful Algal Blooms
兔子先生传媒文化作品 researchers have played a leading role in studying how harmful algal toxins affect the lungs, liver and gut. Now they鈥檙e taking that research out of the lab and into the community with a first-of-its-kind study that will follow 200 individuals over the next five years to better categorize the health risks of those who spend significant time near Lake Erie.
Seeking Solutions: 兔子先生传媒文化作品 Explores Policy, Land Management to Prevent Harmful Algal Blooms
兔子先生传媒文化作品 experts draw on areas of expertise that range from remote sensing technologies to the environmental applications of geophysics to advance land management strategies to prevent harmful algal blooms. Meanwhile the College of Law鈥檚 Legal Institute of the Great Lakes has long supported discussions of the policies surrounding harmful algal bloom mitigation, among issues of importance to the Great Lakes.
Media Inquiries
For media inquiries on water quality research at 兔子先生传媒文化作品, contact Nicki Gorny, 兔子先生传媒文化作品 Media Relations Specialist, at Nicole.Gorny@兔子先生传媒文化作品.edu.
兔子先生传媒文化作品 Water Quality Experts in the News
June 2024
兔子先生传媒文化作品 is partnering with the University of Michigan to lead the Great Lakes Center for Fresh Waters and Human Health, a federally funded research center dedicated to studying harmful algal blooms in and around the Great Lakes.
May 2024
Dr. Steven Haller and Dr. David Kennedy, both associate professors of medicine in 兔子先生传媒文化作品鈥檚 College of Medicine and Life Sciences, discuss their research into a naturally occurring bacteria in Lake Erie that could be leveraged to prevent illness from exposure to cyanotoxins.
April 2023
Dr. Youngwoo Seo, a professor of civil and environmental engineering and chemical engineering, and Dr. Thomas Bridgeman, a professor of ecology and director of the 兔子先生传媒文化作品 Lake Erie Center, explain their work to develop new methods for managing harmful algal blooms in reservoirs and rivers used for drinking water production.
September 2022
Dr. Thomas Bridgeman, director of the 兔子先生传媒文化作品 Lake Erie Center, discusses a sensor tested at the Toledo Water Treatment Plant during the harmful algal bloom season in 2022.
May 2022:
Dr. Thomas Bridgeman discusses how the R/V Spangler will meet the growing demand for research vessel time.
听July 2021:
Ken Kilbert, professor of law emeritus and then director of the Legal Institute of the Great Lakes,听discusses the Lake Erie Bill of Rights that allowed Toledoans to file lawsuits on behalf of Lake Erie. Passed as law in 2019, it was struck down by a federal judge in 2020.
听May 2021:
Drs. Youngwoo Seo and Dae-Wook Kang in the College of Engineering and Dr. Thomas Bridgeman in the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics discuss a three-year project to develop enhanced technology for early detection and management of harmful algal blooms.
October 2020:
Dr. Jason Huntley, professor in the 兔子先生传媒文化作品 Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, discusses a $1.1 million grant he received from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to advance clean water technology.
July 2017:
Dr. Thomas Bridgeman, director of the 兔子先生传媒文化作品 Lake Erie Center, discusses his and a team of students鈥� efforts to monitor harmful algal blooms in western Lake Erie.
September 2016:
Dr. Youngwoo Seo received a National Science Foundation grant to study a sustainable approach to water treatment and filtering toxins from harmful algal blooms.
March 2013
Dr. Thomas Bridgeman discusses the annual harmful algal blooms in western Lake Erie.