My wife and I try not to have a long list of silly rules for our children to follow, but sometimes, their actions warrant rules.

Here are a few of the strange rules in Reese family law.

1. Do not stand on the table. There are clear safety issues when an 18-month old is standing on pretty much anything. Plus, no one wants the feet of anyone (even a cute kid) in, on, or around the food.
2. Do not unroll toilet paper for any reason. There are, of course, very important reasons why toilet paper needs to be unrolled. But, due to our children’s seemingly insatiable desire to unroll the entire roll onto the floor and around our home on a regular basis, we had to enforce very strict guidelines. For now, mom and dad do the necessary unrolling to prevent an in-house TP party.
3. Do not pet the dog. This would seem like something we would encourage the children to do, but the reality of the situation required a rule. Petting, when done by a young child, quickly turns into poking, pulling, hitting and prodding, none of which the old dog appreciates. A grouchy dog and children do not good mix. Hence, no petting the dog.
4. Do not use daddy’s toothbrush to clean the toilet. I do not think much explanation is required here.

While we do not really want to make up all of these rules, sometimes the behavior (or the results of the behavior) requires regulation. Now, if you think a toothbrush in the toilet is bad, consider poisonous algae in the drinking water for 11 million people or killing off a $1 billion fishing industry in Lake Erie.

The extra nutrients in Ohio’s lakes and streams are already aggravating the general public, but when fish die and people get sick or die from the harmful algae growth in Lake Erie or Grand Lake St. Marys, people are going to be angry. Angry people want someone to blame and regulate.

The Ohio EPA already formed the Ohio Lake Erie Phosphorus Task Force (including some good ag folks) that looked at all of the sources of phosphorus in Lake Erie. They looked at industry, the oft-cited lawn fertilizer runoff, urban areas, and agriculture.

In terms of agriculture, crop consultants, Ohio State University Extension research, farmers and environmental groups are at work to proactively address this issue.

Farmers are the last people who want expensive phosphorus and other crop inputs anywhere but in their crops.

“Economics is going to drive this. These inputs are extremely expensive and nobody can afford to buy nutrients that do not go into the production of the crop,” said Joe Nester, a northwest Ohio crop consultant. “With soil testing, good management, good record keeping, and a lot of common sense, we can keep those nutrients at home.”

This is not always an easy task, though. It will take careful management and new satellite-based precision technology to minimize or eliminate nutrient loss in the future, but consultants like Nester and researchers at Ohio State University are working to address this problem with technology, development of management practices and detailed studies of soils and hydrology.

Along with these efforts, the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) is teaming up with farmers, government conservation programs and Soil and Water Conservation Districts to implement land use plans including wetland restoration on unproductive agricultural soils and tree or grass filter strips that capture sediment and nutrients before they reach creeks and streams.

“EDF's work in the Western Lake Erie Basin reflects our ‘working lands’ philosophy that landowners and producers are the most important people to work with when it comes to making real progress on conservation across the landscape. We have other projects like this one in the Chesapeake Bay and Upper Mississippi River Basin as well as Utah, Texas, Colorado and California,” said Karen Chapman, Great Lakes regional director for EDF. “In all of these places, partnerships with producers and landowners are key. We can discuss how both land set-aside types of programs like buffers and wetlands and in-field practices like no-till, cover crops, and adaptive management tools can work in combination to improve soil and water retention, help save the producer money, and keep the nutrients on the land.”

Nobody likes rules, but the water quality problems in Lake Erie must improve. From industry and urban areas to agriculture, everyone needs to step up with proactive measures to address the problem of harmful algal blooms. After all, there is no need to have the rule if you aren’t putting the toothbrush in the toilet.