BY ANTONY CURRIE

Investors and citizens alike are trying to dam U.S. water risks. An Ohio city on Tuesday voted to protect Lake Erie by granting it similar rights to those of humans. And money managers responsible for $6.5 trillion in assets want fast-food giants like McDonald’s and Domino’s Pizza to reduce suppliers’ pollution. These are welcome and much-needed moves.

Voters in Toledo’s special election backed the creation of a Lake Erie Bill of Rights, which would give residents the right to sue governments and businesses that pollute it. Toxic algae caused largely by agricultural runoff has been one of the biggest problems; five summers ago, 400,000 locals went without water for three days because of an algae bloom and 100 were taken ill.

Combating it is costly: The city has committed $1 billion to upgrading its water systems. Preventing the problem makes more sense but farmers, manufacturers and oil-and-gas frackers, who can also taint water supplies, fear they’ll bear the costs.

Often such businesses don’t follow best practices for treating water. Farmers may use more nutrient-heavy fertilizer than needed. Ohio can’t look to Washington for help. Changes to the 1972 Clean Water Act proposed two weeks ago by President Donald Trump’s administration would make pollution easier by exempting groundwater and many seasonal streams from the law’s constraints.

Yet fear of being sued may prompt businesses to upgrade. Shareholders can help, too. Last year Tyson Foods gave in to pressure from two-thirds of independent investors to improve their water practices, even though the family’s supervoting stock defeated the shareholder resolution.

A group of more than 80 investors in January started an even bigger campaign, pushing restaurant chains that some 84 million Americans visit each day to lobby their food suppliers. Many of these behind-the-scenes providers rank poorly on water and emissions standards, according to sustainability nonprofit Ceres, which is working with the shareholders. Done smartly, farmers can often reduce costs and increase yields by adopting more environmentally friendly practices.

It’s sadly ironic that Toledo is again at the center of it all: The Environmental Protection Agency and the Clean Water Act were created in part because Lake Erie was so dirty in the 1960s. With the White House neglecting the problem, it falls to shareholder and civic activism to convince businesses to change.

First published March 1, 2019

IMAGE: REUTERS/Joshua Lott