St. Marys, Ohio -
Van Wert resident Marvin Mihm has fished on Grand Lake St. Marys for the past 50 years. He says advisories about toxic algae in the lake won't stop him from making memories fishing with his grandson Zachary.
"That's special for me," said Mihm. He comes once a year, and we go down to Texas a couple three times a year."
Tourists and visitors like Mihm may be more inclined to visit the lake this year because the state is easing up on cautions about the toxins in the water.
Changes include issuing no contact advisories to visitors only if large amounts of toxic algae are found along with reports of human illness or pet death. The state won't warn against boating and fishing even if a no contact advisory is made.
Signs are still posted on the public beaches warning visitors of the health risks of touching the water. However, they've been removed from other parts of the lake.
Area tourism officials believe the re-tooled advisories along with ongoing projects to clean up the lake have improved this season's outlook.
"Its picked up a lot. The restaurants are packed. So far so good. It's been a good season. Everybody is just waiting to see what the alum is gonna do, and we're just keeping our fingers crossed. That's all we can do," said Jeni Bertke, Assistant at the Auglaize and Mercer Counties Convention and Visitors Bureau.
However, Supporters of the Ohio Environmental Council have a different view of the new advisories.
"We saw injuries to people last year. We saw deaths to animals last year. Frankly we don't want to have that as the threshold for taking action. We want to keep people away from danger and try to clean up resources so that danger doesn't exist," said Joe Logan, Ohio Environmental Council.
The lake currently has a public health advisory which means swimming and wading are not recommended and water should not be swallowed.
Last year, the level of toxin in the water became so high, no contact advisories were issued.
The website www.ohioalgaeinfo.com is now the place to go for algae information in the state. It has a list of current advisories and common sense tips about algae blooms.
