MusicCityGhost: What Is Wrong With Our Lakes?

When I was a Child You never heard of anyone getting sick from the water in the lake

More and more people are going to the emergency room at their local hospital to find out their stomach or intestinal infection came from swallowing some water from the lake in which they were swimming. What is going on here?

As a child I swam or wadded in creeks, lakes, and anywhere else I could find water to help cool off in the triple digit heat waves of the Summer. I never got sick from swallowing the water. I swallowed my share of it as I am not the greatest swimmer. People getting off of work at their factory job often jumped into my favorite swimming hole with a bar of soap and used the lake as their bathtub. It was not uncommon to see a baby playing in the water wearing nothing but a diaper. My guess is those diapers were not always sterile. You never heard of anyone getting sick from the water in the lake.  Why are our lakes so dangerous to swim in these days? Places like Flint Michigan found out too late that drinking water from their lake as a water supply was not the smartest decision made by the authorities. It is so sad that this is a common problem in the United States. My fondest childhood memories are centered around Summer and all the fun we had at the lake.

– The Music City Ghost [File#2018/14]