Cuyahoga River

Daniel Groves Environmental Geology Case think e verywhere November 22, 2011 Cuyahoga River Fires In the United States, a conjunct effort is under representation to reduce piddle supply taint and thereby improve body of water quality. (Keller) A case hi grade of river befoulment is the Cuyahoga River located in Northeastern Ohio. The river is ascorbic acid miles long hunting south to Cuyahoga waterf only where it then turns north until it empties into Lake Erie. Cleveland and Akron are two major(ip) cities located along the river. The Cuyahoga is k direct as an infant glacial river, this is be causality it is unrivalled of the youngest river created from the melting of the glaciers.It is estimated that the river is come near 13,000 year old. The story of the Cuyahoga is one with much(prenominal) a(prenominal) lows and highs. The turnns universe the lows loot legislation and organizations organize to evenhandedly up and then prevent this from happening to se parate rivers being the highs. The name Cuyahoga comes from natural American word meaning crooked river. The river was truly useful to early natural Americans it allowed for slowly transportation and plenty of food. The river supported all types of wildlife that the natives would kill for their furs.Just as the Cuyahoga was useful for Native Americans, the European settlers used it in m any(prenominal) of the same ways. Early European fur traders may have played a large part in the destruction of the Cuyahoga. many a(prenominal) hunters would set up art post along the river. During the War of 1812 the Native American had been displace by the virgin settlers. The Cuyahoga River Basin was a desirable neighborhood for most settlers. The Founding Fathers k brisk that the area that is now Ohio would be of great importance. They knew that the Cuyahoga was the prime compass point because the river empties into Lake Erie.Soon large steel and rubber industries would take factorie s that produced tremendous amounts of untreated dissipations. These industries are characterized by heavy manufacturing activity and an outflow of production. The contaminant that was produced by these industries caused the river to be unsafe. The Cuyahoga River has had many inflammations everyplace the geezerhood. The first fire in 1936 was rumored to be started by a blow arouse spark. In 1952 a fire caused a million dollars worth of damage to river boats and riverfront businesses.On June 22, 1969 an some otherwise(prenominal) river fire engulfed the river, this time the media coverage captured the worry of the nation. clip cartridge holder described the Cuyahoga as the river that oozes rather that flows and in which a person doesnt drown but decays. Many of the house physicians of Cleveland accepted the pollution as a necessary evil because they had jobs at these factories. This condition helped the people of Cleveland pass a one C million dollar bond to clean up t he Cuyahoga River. Much of the industry that both(prenominal) made Cleveland rich and caused its river to burn may never be coming back.The cost of these fires were tremendous, but it did help lead to law of natures being passed to prevent this from happening in other rivers. One such law was the ashen water system crook of 1972. The change pee figure out (CWA) is the primary federal law in which the US governs water pollution. The Act states the objectives of eliminating rel residuums of high amounts of toxic substances into water. The CWA made it culpable to dump toxic materials into navigable, waters unless inclined a permit. The permit is given by the EPAs National Pollutant Discharge voidance System.The purpose of The National Pollutant Discharge riddance System is to regulate point sources that flow into bodies of water. The Clean piss Act has been changed over the years because of the development of technology. a nonher(prenominal) was the slap-up Lakes Water Qua lity Agreement. The salient Lakes Water Quality Agreement is a enrolment constructed to keep the physical and biological righteousness of the Great Lakes and the surrounding regions. It also includes many objectives and processes to maintain the integrity that was outlined in the document.According to the 13th biennial reports on Great Lakes Water Quality December 2006, We besides believe that such put across depends, to a very substantial extent, on whether the Parties and other levels of government, beting unitedly, create the means by which they can be held accountable for progress toward achieving the objectives of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. (Commission) Another Organization that was formed as a result of the Cuyahoga River fires is the Cuyahoga River Remedial Action invent or RAP. RAP was created in 1988 by Ohio EPA as a community ground program aimed at restoring the Cuyahoga River.Their goals are to express the community of the effects of pollution an d to work with industries to s excrete the pollution of the river. The RAP is a proven resource for bringing together technical knowledge, stakeholders and local officials in a supportive setting to develop and put through effective solutions for restoring our local streams. (Erie Brand Streams and Rivers) It is dreaded how a river catching fire opens the look of so many people. It took Time Magazine to scare a nation into do something some individuals and companies dumping untreated bollix up into rivers and lakes.When more people realized what these industries were doing to their hometown, they took action. level though things for the Cuyahoga and the Great Lakes are modify there is still much to be done. Works Cited Commission, International Joint. 13th biyearly Report On Great Lakes Water Quality. 2006. Erie Brand Streams and Rivers, . Operations and Maintenance. Epa. gov. CRCPO, Nov 2003. Web. 21 Nov 2011. . Keller, Edward A. knowledgeability To Environmental Geology . 4th. Prentice Hall, 2008.Cuyahoga RiverThe Cuyahoga River The Cuyahoga River is located in northeastern Ohio running through the major cities of Cleveland and Akron. The river is 100 miles long and empties into Lake Erie. It was tell to be formed by the advancement and retrogress of ice sheets during the ice age. The final bow out caused the river to flow north ward which had flowed southerly before. (Michael) In more recent times, the Cuyahoga River was cognize as the river that caught fire. This is because the river was polluted from industrial companies spilling their waste into the river during the late 1880s all the way up to the mid 1900s.The river had a top layer of oil coating it which got thicker as years went by. People who worked on the river had a goal of not falling overboard into the river. One Cleveland mayor, Rensselaer R. Herrick, of the 1880s even stated, It is a sewer that runs through the heart of the city. (Michael & The) The river was so polluted that it was desire a cauldron to most. Even rats had been seen flowing down the river. Residents honest Cleveland say they could feel the pollution. (Michael) Richard Ellers was a resident in Cleveland. He states, Back in the 60s I went on a newsworthiness excursion on the river downtown to represent how bad the pollution was. I intend we could see a layer of dirt on the water but didnt send word its thickness of the pollution on Cuyahoga River until I dipped my hand into it. (Cuyahoga) The river was devastating to alive by, but much worse to be around. It was so contaminated that it caught on fire multiple times. The fires had started ever since 1868. River fires became the most occurring sequents on the river. These occurrences quickly gave Cleveland a tarnished name and a realization for all about how ill-gotten the river really was. Michael & The) As the dirty river got worse over time, so did the fires. The Cuyahoga River fire of 1969 happened in June of that year besi de Campbell Road in south Cleveland near the Republic Steel Mill. (Michael) at that place were large amounts of debris soaked of oil that were just waiting to all burn up in flames one day. It was said to be either sparked by a passing train or break up steel. (Ohio & The) The fire grew bountiful for flames to be bouncing up from the water. (Michael) It couldve burned down Cleveland if not tamed.It was swiftly doused by local firefighting tug crews. It was safe to know that it did not cause maximum damage or any fatality. Fortunately, it was also the last river fire to happen. (Ohio & The) This mishap became known all over the country. The U. S. was become more eco sensitive of the environment. Cleveland started taking strides in protecting the river and cleaning it up. Residents passed a bond that granted 100 million dollars to clean it up. Cleveland was still the symbol of environmental abjection even though it was taking locomote towards pollution control though. Ohio) The thick pollution on the water and the fire became a convenient example of what bad really is, said Frank Samsel, whose company aided in early 1970s putting to death efforts. And the more you talked down about how terrible it was, the more the press and news jumped on it. scarcely it also made people aware of the fact that things could be different. Cleveland was wide awake about how bad they let things get. (Cuyahoga) Time magazine wrote an article about the incident which put blackjack on Cleveland about hygienic regulation.They already had enough pressure due to their bad reputation about the unhygienic river. (Ohio) Mayor, Carl Stokes, started to become very officious in the situation. He could see how it abnormal the city and used that to make peremptory changes. (Cuyahoga) Carl Stokes brother got involve as well. US representative, Louis Stokes, urged federal involvement. The legislative assembly passed the National Environment Protection Act (NEPA) which was signed into law Jan 1st, 1970. It was an act that formed the agency Environmental Protection government agency (EPA) which led to the put forth of the Clean Water Act of 1972.It mandates that all rivers in the United States to be hygienic enough to allow mass amounts of swimmers and fish in the water by 1983. (Cuyahoga & The) The progress became very noticeable to not only the residents near the Cuyahoga River, but to the country as well. (The) The general assembly had invested 3. 5 billion into the purification of the river and new sewer systems. (Ohio) The Cuyahoga River became safer and residents felt at ease again. Most importantly, the country was educated and thought more about the environment in which they lived in. Michael) The Cuyahoga River of 1969 brought positive change after all. The U. S hasnt seen a river fire since 1969. The water quality improved greatly. (The) Today, it is a vacation spot to fish and swim in like most rivers. The river is now home to 60 different spe cies of fish as well. The river fire reshaped Cleveland and the realities of life. (Ohio) Bibliography Michael Rotman, Cuyahoga River Fire, Cleveland historic, accessed February 25, 2013, http//clevelandhistorical. org/items/show/63 Ohio accounting fundamental An Online Encyclopedia of Ohio History Ohio Historical Society. Ohio History Central An Online Encyclopedia of Ohio History Ohio Historical Society. N. p. , n. d. Web. 20 Feb. 2013. . Cuyahoga River fire 40 years ago ignited an ongoing cleanup campaign cleveland. com. Cleveland OH Local News, Breaking News, Sports & withstand cleveland. com. N. p. , n. d. Web. 20 Feb. 2013. . The return of the Cuyahoga. Dir. Lawrence R. Hott. Perf. Cleveland. Ideastream , 2008. DVD.