As climate, politics, and agricultural interests collide, the health of Lake Erie – and that of humans and wildlife – hang in the balance.

In 2014, the citizens of Toledo, Ohio had to go without running water for three days when a bloom of highly toxic algae entered the drinking water plant from Lake Erie. This should have been a wake up call for politicians, big agriculture, and citizens everywhere that freshwater resources are at risk of becoming toxic.

The Erie Situation explores the confluence of science, public sentiment, politics, and the powerful farming lobby as Ohio wrestles with how to confront the drivers of toxic algae in one of the Great Lakes.

What’s at stake? Who’s at risk? And will volunteer measures be enough to confront this growing crisis, both in Ohio and beyond?