After I dropped off my daughter, I headed to Kroger. It was even more of a madhouse than usual on a Saturday morning. Signs taped to the door announced they were out of bottled water. The under-the-sprinkler produce had disappeared. People loaded carts full of Gatorade. I frowned. Maybe this water advisory was a bigger deal than I thought.
I went home and listened to the news. Apparently, algae blooms released microcystins (toxins) into the water. Most of this area relies on Lake Erie for our water supply, and the part of Lake Erie is a large basin that can get stagnant in warm, non-windy conditions. The algae blooms are made worse with rain because fertilizer from fields runs off. Basically, it's a big, complicated mess and makes my head spin. Here's more info, "Toledo-Area Water Advisory."
When cross country practice was over, we packed the car for a day trip to Put-In-Bay, a super-fun island on Lake Erie. It drizzled all morning, but the weather forecast said no rain. Thirty minutes from the ferry, it down-poured. The sky had that it's-going-to-rain-all-day look. We cancelled our golf-cart reservation and drove around Port Clinton instead. We found a restaurant for lunch and figured if the rain let up we could still catch a ferry to the island. It didn't let up, so we headed over to Huron, Ohio, an adorable seaside town we used to live in years ago. We stopped at a drugstore and bought their last three jugs of water. Bottled water was running out everywhere!
So the rain ruined our day plans, and the toxic water ruined everything else. All weekend my stomach felt funny. I blame it on my toxic water coffee, but it's probably just due to me running around so much this week. :)
I hope the water advisory is lifted soon!!
Do you have a well or city water? Have you ever dealt with a water advisory?
Have a terrific day!
We have a well. If you lived closer, you'd be welcome to fill up your buckets and take a shower.
ReplyDeleteThat's so sweet! If I lived closer, I would take you up on it!! :)
DeleteHow awful! We keep bottled water in our hurricane kit, along with non-perishable food, batteries, etc (and wine, LOL). I remember when a particularly bad hurricane knocked out the power everywhere, including the backup generator for our area's water pumping station. We were fine for water, but bad for flushing toilets...had to bail ditch water into a rubbermaid bin, bring it back to the house, and use that to flush toilets. I'm sure not dumping Dasani down a commode! Hope it's all resolved for you soon, Jill. xo
ReplyDeleteHa, ha! I wouldn't dump Dasani down there either!! We're doing fine. It's an inconvenience at this point. :)
DeleteI'm so sorry you're dealing with this, Jill. I hope the situation is resolved soon.
ReplyDeleteHere in Northern California, we're dealing with drought restrictions. Gwynly and I have cut our consumption in half. Our lawn is looking pretty bad, but it's much more important that people have water to drink.
The drought is so much worse than what we dealt with, Keli. We had plenty of access to bottled water, and the ban only lasted 3 days. I'm praying for CA to get steady rain!!
DeleteIt's an interesting situation here in my hometown. We have city water but, that water comes from wells. As I get older I think it's unique. In 1988, we had a summer of drought and one of the wells went dry. Every once in a while,we have water emergencies. It wouldn't bother us. We drink bottled water. I know, I know, this is a wierd set of circumstances.
ReplyDeleteWow, that is really interesting! City water from wells. Cool idea! We have water towers in the small towns. I'm sure they would use them if we ever had an ongoing emergency.
DeleteI guess it's a good reason to drink Coca Cola! ;)
ReplyDeleteBut seriously a hassle!