‘Lake Erie is not a toilet’: Tons of animal waste is washing into the water, expert says

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - According to one expert, Lake Erie is being used as a toilet. They say tons of animal waste is washing into the water.

People swim and boat in Lake Erie all the time. However, it’s getting to the point where Lake Erie is getting a stigma for being gross.

A lot of people say, at this point, they don’t want to step foot in the water at all.

“We’re boaters, paddleboarders. We love the lake. But, we hate when it’s green, grungy, and dangerous to swim in,” said Dana Textoris, with Lake Erie Advocates.

Who doesn’t hate when the water in Lake Erie is like that? The real question is why is the water like that?

“We did our research and we learned the main pollution is factory farms. There are 25 million animals on these factory farms and their waste is going untreated into the lake,” said Textoris.

Lake Erie Advocates is an organization raising awareness about animal waste pollution going into Lake Erie.

“Among people I know, it’s always been I guess a morbid bit of a joke about how polluted the water is and how no one really wants to go on it,” said Dominic and Patti Norton, Edgewater Beach visitors.

Textoris tells 19 News that Ohio needs to decrease this pollution by 40% in order to save Lake Erie.

“Part of the issue is that the United States EPA is not enforcing the clean water act in Ohio, and so Lake Erie Advocates has taken them to court to get them to enforce. We’re trying to use the courts, we’re trying to use legislation,” said Textoris.

Until then, the only thing we have for now to save Lake Erie is our voices.

“Lake Erie is not a toilet,” said Textoris.

Back in 2014, a toxic algae bloom in Toledo prevented anyone from drinking the water there for several days. That’s just one of the many things they’re trying to prevent from happening.