"Water is safe," was the reassuring pronouncement of Toledo Mayor D. Michael Collins as the ban on water consumption has finally been lifted throughout the county. The ban, imposed last Saturday, practically left some 500,000 residents of this part of northwest Ohio exposed to water not safe for consumption.
"Here's to you, Toledo. You did a great job," the mayor declared as he raised a glass of safe drinking water as a toast to ensure residents that safety issues had been addressed.
In a televised press conference, Collins said the ban was lifted upon recommendations from health authorities. He added that a series of tests were done, all indicating no signs of toxicity in water supply.
"We cannot rest easy upon such pronouncement though," said one local health expert amid the growing clamor to make the safety findings and test results public.
"Ban was lifted according to media reports without fully addressing the question of safety," warned Andrew Whelton, an environmental engineer who has extensive experience on chemical contamination research. Whelton cited the lack of transparency as to how and which tests were done to determine whether or not water is finally safe for drinking.
"What they are doing is pretty much ambiguous right now," added Whelton as he expressed concerns over the fact that the public is being kept on the dark regarding the details of test results.
"Water safety is critical and I think it takes more than just a televised conference to convince anyone that our drinking water is toxic free," expressed one local resident citing his doubts on how the ban was quickly lifted.
Last Saturday, the Ohio governor declared Toledo in a state of emergency as per advised of health authorities. Such warning came about from water tests showing high level of toxins contaminating water supply of the entire city. Reports indicated such contamination was likely due to algal bloom phenomenon that struck Lake Erie, a major source of water supply for Toledo.
Algal bloom is a phenomenon that occurs because of rapid growth of microscopic algae population. Such growth often results to high toxicity that can harm water quality and potentially pose health hazards.
