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Dear Mr. Word and The Truth Staff,
Before 2014, most people had not heard of Toledo. We were
used to being a city off the map. When national and
international news started to cover the drinking water
crisis, we barely knew what was going on. We were scared,
confused, seeking answers, and turning to each other for
guidance and support.
As we learned more, the local high school football team
such as the Start Spartans and Woodward Polar Bears came
together to provide bottled water to those unable to travel
miles away. We sought refuge in each other and felt a bit
relieved when the National Guard came to Toledo. We were
unsure as to when the drinking water ban would be lifted,
but knew we were not forgotten.
Since the Toledo water crisis, we have come to learn both
about the problems causing toxic algae in Lake Erie, and the
potential solutions to this very real problem. Our
community, from elementary school to the elderly, came
together to learn about green infrastructure, natural
landscape elements designed to reduce pollution, such as
bioswales and rain gardens. These green infrastructure
installations in the Junction Community are proving
effective in managing the storm water which otherwise floods
intersections, yards, and basements in our 150-block
neighborhood. This is our contribution to protecting our
neighbors from flooding and Toledo’s water source by
preventing storm water from overwhelming combined sewers
which dump raw sewage into the Ottawa River, Swan Creek, and
the Maumee River during major rain events. We have asked
the Toledo Waterways Initiative, responsible for combined
sewer separation in older parts of Toledo, to install
additional retention cells in the Collingwood portion of the
Junction to maximize storm water control at our boundary
with the interstate and downtown Toledo.
These may seem like minor efforts but when accompanied by
community education, information sharing, beautification
strategies, rain barrel distribution, and raised
consciousness of our place in the Western Lake Erie Basin,
it results in progressive change in our historic
neighborhoods. All this work means little, however, if
protections afforded by the Clean Water Act are rolled back
with the repeal of the Clean Water Rule by the Trump
Administration. This rule protects the wetlands and rivers
of Northwest Ohio which provide the natural filters as water
washes off rural and urban land. The costly update of
Toledo’s water purification facility will require continuous
adaptations – all at the expense of residents who have a
right to clean, safe drinking water. How much will the lack
of federal protection continue to cost us?
We can’t afford to let Ohio and the nation slip backward,
returning to the days of widespread polluted streams, rivers
and lakes. Nobody, Republican or Democrat, wants
contaminated water flowing from our faucets. Ohio’s
Congressional members must stand against any attack on the
Clean Water Act in the budget or appropriations process.
Please call Senators Sherrod Brown (202-224-2315) and Rob
Portman (202-224-3353) and Representatives Marcy Kaptur
(202-225-4146) and Bob Latta (202-225-6405) and urge them to
ensure the promise of a future of clean water for us, our
children, and grandchildren.
Marya Czech,
Junction Coalition Community Education Liaison
419-913-9789
Megan Powell,
Junction Coalition Environmental Specialist
561-908-1120
Alexis Smith,
Junction Coalition Restorative Justice Girl Circle
Coordinator
419-944-9651
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