Cuyahoga River

The Cuyahoga River is located in Northeast Ohio and is known to have been one of the most polluted rivers in the history of the United States. The river was polluted by the waste, in particular the waste generated by factories during the industrial-technology transition. Creatures like leeches and sludge worms that thrive in wastes weren’t even able to endure life in the river.

There have been a total of 13 fires in the river, the first of which occurred in 1868. The most costly fire occurred in 1952, costing around 1.3 million dollars in damages. The most fatal fire occurred in 1912 and documented 5 deaths. In 1969 another fire occurred and was the most covered of all the Cuyahoga River fires mainly because the United States was becoming more eco-aware about the country and also due to the river fire headlining in “Times” magazine. Due to the amount of attention the fire of 69’ brought to the city of Cleveland, a great deal of pressure was given to hygienic regulation. The fire of 69’ influenced Congress to resolve the issue with land pollution in the United States as a whole and passed the National Environment Protection Act (NEPA). This later established the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) which manages environmental risks and sanitary-specific policies. One of the first actions the EPA enforced was to put forth the Clean Water Act (1972), which ordered that all rivers throughout the United States be hygienic enough to safely allow large amounts of swimmers and fish within the Cuyahoga River by 1983. Since the fire of 69’ the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District has invested over $3.5 billion towards the purification of the river and the development of new sewer systems. Another act that was established was the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement commitment between the United States and Canada. This restored and protected the waters of the Great Lakes and states that the EPA coordinates U.S. activities.This agreement was also a result of the awareness of pollution in the Cuyahoga River as well as the Clean Water Act. Without the Cuyahoga River, we would not live in the same country as we live in today. The river has brought worldwide attention to water pollution and how waste is treated in ecosystems that has large bodies of water nearby. The river is now home to about sixty different species of fish and new waste management programs to ensure the cleanliness of Cleveland's waterways.