BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM
The Cuyahoga River, formerly associated with industrial trash and environmental negligence, is now a symbol of resilience and rehabilitation. Conservationists recently released a group of lake sturgeon into the Cuyahoga River, marking a significant turning point in the river’s history. These fish, previously native to the Great Lakes but now extinct due to pollution, require clean, oxygen-rich water to flourish. Their return to the Cuyahoga demonstrates the efforts to restore the river’s health.
“This is a celebratory moment for the Cuyahoga,” said Brian Schmidt, a fish biologist with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. He emphasized the importance of the sturgeon release, stating that these fish require a clean environment for their eggs to survive. “It’s a strong indicator that the river is recovering.”
The Cuyahoga River, once reviled for being so polluted that it would catch fire (most memorably in 1969), is now making headlines for the opposite reason: regeneration. Elaine Marsh, president of Friends of the Crooked River, formerly described the river as “a completely unregulated sewer,” but it is now clean enough for bald eagles, blue herons, and even kayakers to share its waters.
A historical environmental catalyst
To properly grasp the importance of the Cuyahoga’s revival, one must first understand its tragic history. For decades, companies on its banks dumped industrial waste into the river, transforming it into a poisonous flow of chemicals and trash. The Cuyahoga has notoriously caught fire several times, but the 1969 conflagration, despite its minor size, prompted a national outcry and helped birth the contemporary environmental movement.
Cleveland Mayor Carl Stokes seized the opportunity to hold a well-known “pollution tour” the day following the fire to call attention to the river’s awful condition. The disaster became a national icon of unrestrained industrial pollution and sparked major environmental legislation, including the establishment of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1970 and the enactment of the Clean Water Act of 1972.
These regulations gave the means to hold corporations accountable for pollution, but as John Hartig, a scholar at the University of Windsor’s Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research, pointed out, industry was not the only issue. The region’s antiquated sewer infrastructure, which combined raw sewage and stormwater in the same pipes, also contributed to the river’s demise. When heavy rains overwhelmed the facility, raw sewage leaked directly into the Cuyahoga.
Dams, sturgeon, and kayakers: the river’s new life
Cleveland and Akron, the two major cities along the Cuyahoga, significantly upgraded their wastewater systems as a result of massive government investments in the 1970s and 1980s. These modifications were crucial in mitigating the river’s pollution and setting the framework for its recovery.
Dam removal has also played a significant role in the river’s comeback. According to Patrick Gsellman, senior adviser for the Akron Waterways Renewed! program, removing these barriers restored the river’s natural flow, which benefits both wildlife and recreational users. “From a paddler’s perspective, I can tell you that the wildlife of the river area has improved dramatically,” said Don Howdyshell, a whitewater kayaker who helped start the Cuyahoga Falls Fest, an annual event that draws paddlers from across the country.
The demolition of these dams has been especially beneficial for fish species such as lake sturgeon, which require open waterways to breed. Amy Holtshouse, director for connecting lands and waters in the Midwest at The Nature Conservancy, explained, “You see fish being able to go upstream of those barriers. Within days of dams being removed, you see the natural flow of sediment and water being restored.”
In addition to aiding wildlife, dam reductions turned the Cuyahoga into a popular leisure destination. Events like the Blazing Paddles Paddlefest now draw hundreds of kayakers and paddleboarders, demonstrating how far the river’s image has come. As Kris Patterson of the Ohio Lake Erie Commission pointed out, the Paddlefest has become a symbol of the Cuyahoga’s revival.
Challenges and the way ahead
Despite improvements, obstacles remain. One of the major challenges is the removal of the Gorge Dam, which is estimated to take three years and requires the meticulous removal of 832,000 cubic yards of contaminated silt. However, after this final barrier is dismantled, the Cuyahoga will come closer to losing its “area of concern” status from the EPA, which it has held since 1987.
Even as the river recovers, new threats emerge. “We should be proud of the Clean Water Act that dramatically reduced the pollution that led to the fires in the Cuyahoga,” said Tom Kiernan, president of the American Rivers conservation group. “However, we now face climate change, biodiversity loss, and other threats to our rivers. And we need a new set of responses.”
Nonetheless, the Cuyahoga’s recovery provides a paradigm for other contaminated rivers in the United States. “In a time when people might be anxious with climate change or get depressed with the state of the environment, there are positive signs in river restoration that I think can be motivating,” said Kiernan.
Samantha Martin, a spokesperson for the Cleveland Water Alliance and a member of the Cuyahoga River Area of Concern Advisory Committee, stated that, while older generations may recall the river’s dirty history, younger generations welcome its restored future. For Clevelanders and others who live along the Cuyahoga, the river’s rebirth represents more than just environmental achievement; it’s a source of pride.
