By CELESTE BAUMGARTNER
Ohio Correspondent

ST. MARYS, Ohio — The situation is not good for businesses in the Grand Lake St. Mary’s (GLSM) region, since the algae problems shut down the lake.

 “It has had a very negative impact as far as businesses, especially those catering to visitors from restaurants, to certainly the marinas,” said Donna Grube, executive director of the Auglaize and Mercer County Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB). “It’s tough to keep the morale up when this kind of news goes on about your area.

“We’re all very proud of where we live, Auglaize and Mercer County, and we’re proud of our heritage and our land. It is embarrassing to have this thing happen during our watch. It’s been a tough time.”

It is an interesting situation because balance is necessary, Grube said. Most people in the area are either related to someone from a family farm or come from one themselves; she grew up on a dairy farm.

“That’s just the culture here and we’re very proud of that,” she said. “Mercer County has the highest level of farm receipts in Ohio. There is a lot of hard work that goes on.

“It is a tough situation to know that what has happened in past generations now is sort of coming to a boil and that these current farms are going to tighten their belts in certain ways. It is an interesting situation, but it is tough on everyone in our area.”

There are high hopes; if the alum tests and the small treatment being done on a small portion of the lake in September are successful, the entire lake would be treated next spring. That, combined with a hard freeze over the winter, spurs the hope that the lake would be healthy enough for fishing and boating next spring, Grube said.

Yet it will be a long time before anyone can be certain the situation could not recur. “You have to get rid of the materials that are in the lake now, as well as lessen the amount of phosphorous that comes into the lake; there is a ‘long row to hoe,’ but people are feeling pretty hopeful,” she said.

“It’s a tough situation. Everybody depends on the farming here, and yet we have to also be environmentally-conscious. I’m proud of everyone around here, especially the farming community. I think they’re looking at the ways they’re doing business and looking for ways to do it better and to be more environmentally conscious, and I think down the road it’s going to be very successful.”