An advocacy group desperate to clear toxic algae from Grand Lake St. Marys urged state officials this morning to dredge the polluted lake and to apply a chemical this spring to starve the algae.
The recently appointed directors of the Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Natural Resources and Department of Agriculture traveled to the western Ohio lake this morning and were briefed by the Grand Lake St. Marys Restoration Commission.
The 13,000-acre lake and state park in Mercer and Auglaize counties was a popular spot for boaters and campers until tests revealed the presence of algae-produced liver and nerve toxins in the water.
Fed by phosphorus from manure that runs off nearby farms during storms, the algae grew so dense over the summer that the state warned visitors not to touch the water, take boats out on the lake or eat any fish caught there.