10 Years After the ​Toledo Water Crisis

A community’s journey ​through fear, connection, ​and hope

On August 2nd, 2014 the residents of Toledo were alerted that their ​water was unsafe to drink, use, or even touch. An essential element ​often overlooked until the impact of it’s absence was felt.

As the news spread, residents didn’t know what to do. Many were ​unable to drive, unable to carry heavy loads, and unable to get to their ​loved ones.

Monique

The power to solve the problem came not from outside, but from the ​connection within the community.

Community members bound together to take care of people of color, the ​elderly, mothers with small children, those experiencing poverty, and ​other groups who were disproportionately at risk during this crisis.

They showed each other empathy in a time when isolation would have ​been easy.

But unity does not occur without obstacles. In their pursuit of safe ​water, residents didn’t know who to trust for broader support. The ​supply of bottled water was quickly running out causing prices to ​skyrocket out of range for most families. They needed help.

Community leaders and city officials began to mobilize toward a ​solution. The water supply had to be restored and the people of Toledo ​needed to be supported until the peak of the crisis retreated.

The half a million people who went without easy access to safe and ​affordable drinking water for three days did regain access, but systemic ​change needed to happen.

Over the next several years city officials have worked to improve ​Toledo’s water quality through improvements to the treatment plant, ​sewer system, and waterways. Farmers and conservationists worked to ​put research into practice by understanding the impact of current ​farming practices and creating a new best management practice ​certification program.

In 2015, the Governors of Ohio and ​Michigan and the Premier of ​Ontario committed to reducing ​phosphorus inputs to Lake Erie by ​40% by 2025. Since 2019, the ​H2Ohio program has made progress ​toward reducing phosphorus ​nutrient pollution through wetland ​construction and incentivizing in-​field practices. But we are not yet ​on target to meet our goals.

Report detailing how the Lake Erie region what ​steps must be taken to meet water quality goals.

The people whose lives were changed on August 2nd should never have ​to live through...

…caused by the impacts of pollution on our drinking water. Ohioans have ​the power to ensure that a crisis like this never happens again. Together ​we can:

Toledo ​Resident

David

Take action to support safe, affordable drinking water by:

• Getting in touch with your local community organization
  
• Toledo: Junction Coalition
  
• Cleveland: Alliance for the Great Lakes
  
• Youngstown: Friends of the Mahoning River
  
• Columbus: Franklin Soil and Water Conservation District
  
• Athens: Athens Conservancy
  
• Cincinnati: Ohio River Foundation
  
• Email your Ohio legislator about supporting significant, sustained ​new investments to improve in-field conservation practices.