Mitigating Agricultural Phosphorus in Western Lake Erie – Opportunities, Uncertainty and Competing Interests.

The resurgence of eutrophication concerns in Western Lake Erie is largely associated with an increase in dissolved phosphorus loadings from local tributaries. Extensive blue green algal blooms pose an acute threat to Lake Erie’s aquatic ecosystem, and also threaten the drinking water of local communities, including the city of Toledo. Controlling dissolved phosphorus losses in runoff from agriculture is neither simple nor straightforward, particularly in areas such as the Western Lake Erie Basin where sub-surface phosphorus pathways are thought to account for the majority of the non-point source phosphorus load. Indeed, soil conservation priorities that may have been key to historical improvements in water quality may impinge upon innovations intended to curb dissolved phosphorus loss. Trade-offs must be considered with drainage, nutrient and tillage management, a frustrating prospect for those accustomed to emphasizing production or ecological outcomes. Further confounding mitigation programs is ambiguity over specific sources of dissolved phosphorus and the likelihood that legacy phosphorus residing in soils and sediments is contributing to the watershed load. As a result, sound strategies in the areas of nutrient and drainage management, such as the 4R program, Phosphorus Index and controlled drainage management, cannot be viewed, in and of themselves, as complete solutions. Multiple strategies must be fostered, understanding that problems that have taken long periods to manifest and that are incompletely understood will take resources and time to address. Similarly, the murkiness of the problem may awaken other agendas and even attract snake oil, requiring a patient, open-minded perspective that can be immiscible in a politicized environment. We seek to offer internal and external perspectives on the problems in Western Lake Erie, highlighting the complexity of the situation while offering hope for opportunities.