Lake Erie is one of the largest bodies of fresh water on the plant, and it provides drinking water to over 11 million people. Unfortunately, the large body of water is under attack, and the offender, is the very people depending on it. Over the past couple of years Lake Erie has been assaulted with worsening toxic algae blooms. As a result, in 2014, the city of Toledo was unable to consume the tap water without fear of becoming sick. Now, how is it the people 's fault that this is occurring? Well, it is not all people, as much as it is a small percentage of the people: Farmers. Much of the Lake Erie area was once known as the black swamp, with development only being possible after the construction of tile drains. “Tile drains are simply
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These are permanent strips of vegetation planted along the outside edge of a field, or around large bodies of water. The purpose of these strips is to catch surface runoff, and subsequently pollutants like phosphorus. (Transistion) “The benefits to surface water resources and habitat of fish and wildlife from buffer strips in agricultural areas include the following: Water quality. Buffers may intercept or remove pollutants and sediment in the following percentages from runoff: 50 percent or more of nutrients and pesticides, 60 percent or more of some pathogens, and 75 percent or more of sediment”(CITATION). On top of providing benefits to the environment, buffer strips also provide advantages to farmers. “The benefits of buffers to farmers include reduced flood damage to crops, reduced erosion and sediment loss, and reduced ditch maintenance costs. In addition, buffer strips can eliminate end rows and provide turn areas for farmers’ machinery during fieldwork”(Citation). Besides the obvious disadvantage of less room for crops, Buffer strips seem to be the best solution available. Unfortunately, this is not the case because of the aforementioned construction of tile drains, and the type of soil around Lake Erie. The majority of runoff is not surface runoff, but water that has slipped through the cracks and taken to the tile drains. Thus missing the buffer strips entirely, and rendering them essentially
These are permanent strips of vegetation planted along the outside edge of a field, or around large bodies of water. The purpose of these strips is to catch surface runoff, and subsequently pollutants like phosphorus. (Transistion) “The benefits to surface water resources and habitat of fish and wildlife from buffer strips in agricultural areas include the following: Water quality. Buffers may intercept or remove pollutants and sediment in the following percentages from runoff: 50 percent or more of nutrients and pesticides, 60 percent or more of some pathogens, and 75 percent or more of sediment”(CITATION). On top of providing benefits to the environment, buffer strips also provide advantages to farmers. “The benefits of buffers to farmers include reduced flood damage to crops, reduced erosion and sediment loss, and reduced ditch maintenance costs. In addition, buffer strips can eliminate end rows and provide turn areas for farmers’ machinery during fieldwork”(Citation). Besides the obvious disadvantage of less room for crops, Buffer strips seem to be the best solution available. Unfortunately, this is not the case because of the aforementioned construction of tile drains, and the type of soil around Lake Erie. The majority of runoff is not surface runoff, but water that has slipped through the cracks and taken to the tile drains. Thus missing the buffer strips entirely, and rendering them essentially