Lake Erie island warned not to use well water
TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — Residents of a small Canadian island are being warned not to drink their well water because of potentially toxic algae in Lake Erie.
The blue-green algae blooms causing the warning are the same stuff that contaminated the drinking water of about 400,000 people in the Toledo area earlier this month.
Health officials say people who live on Canada’s Pelee Island should stop bathing and cooking with the water from their private wells that draw Lake Erie.
The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit in Ontario says the municipal water system on the island is still safe to use.
Some 300 people live year-round on the island about 50 miles east of Toledo that’s situated along the U.S.-Canadian border.
Residents and visitors are also being told not to swim in the lake.