AFTER A TOXIC algae bloom in Lake Erie prevented a half-million Toledo residents from using public water last summer, Ohio lawmakers have passed Senate Bill 1, designed to curb phosphorus (P) runoff, the main culprit of the algae blooms.

As increased levels of dissolved phosphorus are identified as a major concern dealing with the increased algal blooms found in Lake Erie, some folks have been pointing a finger at no-till as the cause. Yet the facts regarding phosphorus runoff in the Western Lake Erie Basin watershed near Toledo, Ohio, don't back up that argument.