Luke 21:7 “Teacher,” they asked, “when will all this happen? What sign will show us that these things are about to take place?” Luke 21:11 "There will be great earthquakes, and there will be famines and epidemics in many lands, and there will be terrifying things (that which strikes terror), and great miraculous signs in the heavens."
Residents of Ohio’s fourth-largest city endured a weekend when the water coming from their taps was nothing but toxic trouble.
Officials with Toledo, Ohio announced early Saturday morning that the 400,000 residents of the city needed to avoid drinking, bathing or cooking with the water because of the amount of toxin in the water from an algae bloom in Lake Erie. The city obtains its water from a pipe two and a half miles into the lake.
Mayor D. Michael Collins announced the ban just after 3 a.m. Saturday. He said an algae bloom that normally does not move into the area of the water intake at this time of year was pulled in because of high winds and waves. A satellite image of the lake showed the algae bloom centered right around the water intake.
The Ohio National Guard brought filtration systems and large shipments of bottled water into Toledo for residents. Governor John Kasich declared a state of emergency that ended Monday morning when the water was determined to have a safe level of algae related toxin.
Water plant operators along western Lake Erie have been concerned about the amounts of phosphorus going into the lake for years. They have been able to compensate for blooms in past years but this year’s early blooming was unexpected.
The city was dealing with reports of price gouging. One Toledo television station found a discount store selling bottled water at twice the normal price.
