EPA suggests triggers for warning of algae in drinking water

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released the first nationwide guidelines Wednesday for determining when algal toxins have reached dangerous levels in public water systems and do-not-drink warnings might be needed. Up to 48 million people nationwide get drinking water from lakes and reservoirs that could become fouled with toxins generated by algae-like bacteria, the federal agency said. Pollution from cyanobacteria, otherwise known as blue-green algae, in Lake Erie left more than 400,000 people in northwestern Ohio and southeastern Michigan without usable tap water for two days last August. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_EPA_ALGAE_BLOOMS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT