A2POLITICO: Toledo Water Crisis and the Ann Arbor Water Crisis

by P.D. Lesko

I AM AT  work on an investigative piece about money allegedly mishandled. I don’t want to give away too much, but suffice it to say the people involved would rather the story not be told. We’re all guilty of wishing we could sweep things under the rug. The Toledo water crisis, a man-made problem related to nitrogen, phosphorus and algae, is the result of decades of inaction on the part of elected officials in Michigan and Ohio.

The toxin microcystin is produced by a blue-green algae in Lake Erie. Neither Michigan nor Ohio require testing for this toxin, and there are no state or federal regulation of acceptable standards of microcystin. It is a nasty organism which can cause abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, liver inflammation and pneumonia. When in contact with skin, microcystin can cause rashes, hives and blisters.

This isn’t the first time algae blooms have threatened Lake Erie. In 1960, the lake’s oxygen levels dropped so sharply that it was declared “dead” because of algae blooms. Its recovery is largely the product of standards put in place by the U.S. Clean Water Act. But in 1995, algae blooms began again, the Toledo Blade reports, as researchers tracked an increase in the amount of phosphorus deposited in the Maumee River.

While the Huron River’s levels of phosphorus have fallen significantly—to all-time lows—over the past decade, local elected officials, as well as state-level officials have not aggressively pursued remediation of an even more insidious form of contamination that threatens Ann Arbor’s water supply: 1,4 dioxane. It represents a man-made disaster. In a retention pond at the Former Gelman Sciences 1,4 dioxane contaminated water was stored. That water was used to irrigate the lawns at Gelman Sciences, and so a 1,4 dioxane plume that is estimated to be one mile long and three miles wide has contaminated the groundwater in Scio Township and is, local activists believe, creeping toward Barton Pond, the source of 85 percent of Ann Arbor’s water.

The 1,4 dioxane plume clean-up is being overseen by the MDEQ. However, local activists believe the standards to which the clean-up must adhere are simply not good enough. While the Toledo algae bloom may give those who come into contact with it a rash and possibly liver inflammation, 1,4 dioxane is a suspected carcinogen.

Christopher Taylor (D-Ward 3), who recently won a four-way mayoral primary election, has said if elected he will make “sure that the state improves the 1,4-dioxane cleanup standard.” If there is one campaign promise to which voters should make absolutely sure Taylor adheres it’s that one. Should the 1,4 dioxane plume impact Barton Bond, it could, potentially, decrease home values throughout Ann Arbor. Contamination of groundwater must be revealed in seller disclosures. Contamination of Ann Arbor’s drinking water supply, well, that would be national news.

The one aspect of this story I fail to understand is how the man whose company launched the plume escapes public notoriety. The Gelman Educational Foundation has become a major donor supporting the University of Michigan. It has donated approximately $7,000,000 to the School of Public Health and other U-M institutions. It has also donated $2,500,000 to the YMCA, $1,000,000 to Jewish Charities, and $100,000 to “science activist groups.” The Foundation has funded a number of groups that fight efforts to address climate change, including some supported by the controversial Koch brothers of Koch Industries. The Foundation, controlled by Charles and Rita Gelman, has described its donations to the groups as made under the category “environmental.”