The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency awarded the city of Avon Lake one of the first grants so it can purchase testing equipment to monitor its drinking water apply for cyanobacteria. Craig Butler, Ohio EPA director, stopped by the Avon Lake Filtration Plant on Oct. 30 to discuss the grants. Every summer, Avon Lake monitors the water supply for microcystins, which is a common type of toxin produce by cyanobacteria, according to the Avon Lake Regional Water District.
The grant that Avon Lake is receiving will give the city a better microscope, microscope camera and staff training to help better identify sources of cyanotoxins and focus microcystin monitoring, officials said. According to the Regional Water District, cyanotoxins can be produced during algal blooms on the lakes, reservoirs and streams. The Ohio EPA has made $1 million available in grants up to $10,000 per system in the state to help purchase equipment and training. According to the Regional Water District, Avon Lake received $9,746. Butler said a few months ago he was in northwestern Ohio talking about the new funding he was going to make available. ‘Based on the events we had in Toledo, it was clear that our public water systems needed really a quick and effective way to do some rapid treatment of source water testing,’ he said. ‘We wanted to make sure that we had this money available so that systems could purchase the equipment, get the equipment as well as the testing and integrate that into the rest of their testing capability.’ Butler said there are about 125 drinking water systems in the state. And Avon Lake is one of the very first to receive a grant, Butler said. ‘We had a great opportunity to see the lab and the new microscopes that are eligible to purchase,’ he said. Todd Danielson, chief utilities executive for Avon Lake Regional Water, said the agency is noticing the changing water quality and will respond to algal blooms without overtreating the water. ‘Lake Erie is vitally important to us and we provide water to over 200,000 people in northern Ohio,’ he said. ‘So, for us to be able to quickly and rapidly respond to change in lake water quality, it’s vitally important.’
