Health Advisory in Place for Toledo's Maumee River as Algae Bloom Problem Grows Worse

The city of Toledo and residents along the Maumee River are four days into a public health advisory prompted by the worsening algae blooms growing out of Lake Erie's western basin. Photos and reports from Toledo are echoing the state of affairs in 2014 that led to a three-day ban on water use.

WTOL meteorologist Ryan Wichman tweeted a startling 360-degree photo of the Maumee River today. If the implications of the algae bloom issue aren't yet clear enough, his photo should clarify how dire the situation could become.

Wow. Here is a 360 degree view of the algae bloom in downtown Toledo. Health advisory in place. https://t.co/q9O5PZFYZ0 @TOLAerialMedia pic.twitter.com/Fmlv67cYca

— Ryan Wichman (@Ryan_Wichman) September 25, 2017

Today, the Toledo Blade editorial board published a piece titled "The Lake Erie threat is now." Those writers and editors are there are right in the thick of it, and well versed in the potential health hazards awaiting the city. From our own vantage point, we wrote earlier this summer about the impending crisis triggered by a sleepy federal government and a growing algae bloom problem, titled "The Lake Erie reckoning is here." However you slice it, things are bad. And they could quite easily get worse.