Environment
Monday, June 22, 2009
Comeback of the Cuyahoga River
On the 40th anniversary of clean-up, the once burning river rebounds
by WKSU's KAREN SCHAEFER |
Reporter
Karen Schaefer | | |
 | | | Courtesy of (left)Courtesy of: Special Collections Librarian, Cleveland State University Library
(right)Karen Schaefer |
Forty years ago today in Cleveland, the Cuyahoga River caught fire. It wasn't the first time the river burned, but it was the last. The fire sparked public outrage across the nation and drove Congress to pass the Clean Water Act. Since then there've been years of clean-up. Where vacuum boats once sucked up oil spills, boating clubs now enjoy an evening rowing on the river. The Cuyahoga is so much cleaner, state officials have applied to take parts of it off a list of the most polluted Great Lakes waterways. |
(Click image for larger view.)
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