The recent drinking-water crisis brought on by algae blooms has put Toledo's water-quality troubles on the national stage. The issue is common: Runoff from urban and agricultural areas and wastewater treatment plants create hypoxia, or algae blooms, that choke oxygen for fish and other aquatic life and trap toxins, which can poison the water.

"Currently, we are seeing the impacts of nitrogen and phosphorus pollution, not only off the Louisiana Coast but around the country," says Matt Rota, senior policy director for the Gulf Restoration Network.