AALTO FILTERS

AALTO was originally born from a conversation with a few classmates in high school chemistry when one of them, being from Colorado, mentioned how she gets to go skiing when she leaves for Winter Break. At the time, I sarcastically responded, “We don’t have cool things like that in Ohio, so have fun!” to which my friend from Colorado retorted that Ohio has Lake Erie! My fellow Ohioans at the table concede, but then came the explanation about why Lake Erie is often too toxic for most recreational use. Knowing the toxins in our local waterways came from unabated algal growth fueled by agricultural and commercial runoff, my best friend Sean and I began exploring a new way to address the runoff. 

Nutrient runoff from agricultural and commercial chemical applications such as fertilizers (and other non-point sources of runoff) wash into our natural bodies of water through ditches and tributaries, ultimately accelerated growth of toxic algae blooms. This process is known as eutrophication, and it caused the 2014 Toledo Water Crisis that left water undrinkable and unsafe for over half a million people in my area. 

These toxic algal blooms occur almost every year in Lake Erie, and continue to present complications to local water treatment & threaten native wildlife. Around the country and the world, harmful algal blooms continue to present similar risks to communities and ecosystems.