Cuyahoga River

Daniel Groves environmental Geology Case Study November 22, 2011 Cuyahoga River Fires In the joined States, a concerted effort is afoot(predicate) to reduce water supply taint and thereby improve water part. (Keller) A human face history of river pollution is the Cuyahoga River rigid in Northeastern Ohio. The river is ascorbic acid miles extensive flow rate south to Cuyahoga F all tolds where it then turns jointure until it empties into Lake Erie. Cleveland and Akron are two major cities located along the river. The Cuyahoga is known as an baby glacial river, this is because it is one of the youngest river constructd from the melting of the glaciers.It is estimated that the river is to the highest degree 13,000 year old. The story of the Cuyahoga is one with numerous lows and highs. The extracts being the lows new legislation and organizations organise to clean up and then retain this from chance to other rivers being the highs. The list Cuyahoga comes from Native American word heart and soul crooked river. The river was very useful to early(a) Native Americans it allowed for easy transportation and deal 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 typesettlers employ it in some(prenominal) of the same ways. primordial European fur traders may admit played a large vo frosting in the demise of the Cuyahoga. Many hunters would set up trading post along the river. During the War of 1812 the Native American had been apprise by the new settlers. The Cuyahoga River Basin was a desirable area for most settlers. The instauration Fathers knew that the area that is now Ohio would be of commodious importance. They knew that the Cuyahoga was the prime spot because the river empties into Lake Erie.Soon large marque and rubber industries would build factories that produced tremendous amounts of untreated wastes. These industries are characterized by heavy manufacturing exertion and an outflow of production. The pollution that was produced by these industries ca apply the river to be unsafe. The Cuyahoga River has had many send packings over the years. The first fire in 1936 was ru muchd to be started by a blow torch spark. In 1952 a fire caused a million dollar bills worthy of damage to river boats and riverfront businesses.On June 22, 1969 a nonher river fire engulfed the river, this epoch the media coverage captured the attention of the nation. Time snip described the Cuyahoga as the river that oozes rather that flows and in which a person doesnt submerse exactly decays. Many of the residents of Cleveland accepted the pollution as a necessary evilness because they had jobs at these factories. This oblige attend toed the wad of Cleveland travel a 100 million dollar bond to clean up the Cuyahoga River. lots of the industry that both do Cleveland well-heeled and caused its river to elicit m ay never be coming back.The costs of these fires were tremendous, moreover it did help lead to fairnesss being passed to prevent this from happening in other rivers. One such(prenominal) law was the Clean pee defend of 1972. The Clean body of water subroutine (CWA) is the capital federal law in which the US governs water pollution. The Act states the objectives of eliminating releases of high amounts of deadly substances into water. The CWA made it unlawful to dump poisonous materials into navigable, waters unless given a provide. The permit is given by dint of the EPAs internal Pollutant Discharge Elimination System.The purpose of The topic Pollutant Discharge Elimination System is to bewilder point sources that flow into bodies of water. The Clean Water Act has been changed over the years because of the exploitation of technology. Another was the vast Lakes Water note parallelism. The Great Lakes Water persona Agreement is a document constructed to keep the ca rnal and biological faithfulness of the Great Lakes and the meet regions. It also includes many objectives and processes to maintain the integrity that was outlined in the document.According to the 13th biannual reports on Great Lakes Water Quality December 2006, We further believe that such progress depends, to a very corporeal extent, on whether the Parties and other levels of government, working together, 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 organize as a result of the Cuyahoga River fires is the Cuyahoga River curative Action Plan or spigot. RAP was created in 1988 by Ohio EPA as a community based program aimed at restoring the Cuyahoga River.Their goals are to inform the community of the do of pollution and to work with industries to stop the pollution of the river. The RAP is a proven imaging for bringing together techn ical knowledge, stakeholders and topical anesthetic officials in a supportive view to develop and implement effective solutions for restoring our topical anesthetic streams. (Erie Brand Streams and Rivers) It is amazing how a river contractable fire opens the eyes of so many people. It took Time Magazine to scare a nation into do something slightly individuals and companies cast away untreated waste into rivers and lakes.When more people realized what these industries were doing to their hometown, they took action. raze though things for the Cuyahoga and the Great Lakes are improving there is unflustered much to be done. Works Cited Commission, transnational Joint. 13th Biennial Report On Great Lakes Water Quality. 2006. Erie Brand Streams and Rivers, . trading operations and Maintenance. Epa. gov. CRCPO, Nov 2003. Web. 21 Nov 2011. <http//www. epa. gov/greatlakes/aoc/cuyahoga/ErieStreamsGuide. pdf>. Keller, Edward A. Introduction To surroundingsal Geology. 4th. a pprentice Hall, 2008.Cuyahoga RiverThe Cuyahoga River The Cuyahoga River is located in jointureeastern Ohio outpouring through the major cities of Cleveland and Akron. The river is 100 miles long and empties into Lake Erie. It was verbalise to be formed by the advancement and retreat of ice sheets during the ice age. The final retreat caused the river to flow north ward which had flowed southward before. (Michael) In more recent times, the Cuyahoga River was known as the river that caught fire. This is because the river was foul from industrial companies spilling their waste into the river during the late 1880s all the way up to the mid(prenominal) 1900s.The river had a top layer of vegetable crude oil coating it which got thicker as years went by. deal 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 privy that runs through the heart of the city. (Michael & The) The river was so soil that it was like a cauldron to most. Even rats had been waitn flowing cut back the river. Residents near Cleveland tell they could feel the pollution. (Michael) Richard Ellers was a resident in Cleveland. He states, Back in the 60s I went on a news outing on the river downtown to order of battle how boastful the pollution was. I remember we could see a layer of crud on the water but didnt appreciate its thickness of the pollution on Cuyahoga River until I dipped my hand into it. (Cuyahoga) The river was devastating to live 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 incidents on the river. These occurrences speedily gave Cleveland a tarnished name and a fruition for all about how unclean the river real was. Michael & The) As the dirty river got worse over time, so did the fires. The Cuyahoga River fire of 1969 happened i n June of that year beside Campbell Road in southeastern Cleveland near the Republic Steel Mill. (Michael) thither 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 resolve steel. (Ohio & The) The fire grew enough for flames to be leaping up from the water. (Michael) It couldve burned down Cleveland if not tamed.It was swiftly doused by local firefighting tugboat 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 incident became known all over the country. The U. S. was becoming more eco cognisant of the environment. Cleveland started taking strides in protecting the river and change it up. Residents passed a bond that granted 100 million dollars to clean it up. Cleveland was still the image of environmental degradation even though it was taking steps towards polluti on discover though. Ohio) The thick pollution on the water and the fire became a convenient showcase of what large really is, said Frank Samsel, whose union aided in early mid-seventies cleanup efforts. And the more you talked down about how terrible it was, the more the press and news jumped on it. But it also made people aware of the fact that things could be divergent. Cleveland was wide awake about how braggart(a) they let things get. (Cuyahoga) Time magazine wrote an article about the incident which throw pull 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 live on very active in the situation. He could see how it affected the city and used that to make compulsive changes. (Cuyahoga) Carl Stokes brother got involved as well. US representative, Louis Stokes, urged federal involvement. The legislature passed the National Environment Protection Act (NEP A) which was signed into law Jan 1st, 1970. It was an act that formed the agency environmental Protection 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 pot amounts of swimmers and weight 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 legislature 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. well-nigh 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 playground to fish and swim in like most rivers. The river is now home to 60 diff erent species of fish as well. The river fire reshaped Cleveland and the realities of life. (Ohio) Bibliography Michael Rotman, Cuyahoga River Fire, Cleveland Historical, accessed February 25, 2013, http//clevelandhistorical. org/items/show/63 Ohio History key An Online cyclopaedia 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. <http//www. ohiohistorycentral. org>. Cuyahoga River fire 40 years past ignited an ongoing cleanup weight-lift cleveland. com. Cleveland OH Local News, Breaking News, Sports & bear cleveland. com. N. p. , n. d. Web. 20 Feb. 2013. <http//www. cleveland. com/science/index. ssf/2009/06/cuyahoga_river_fire_40_years_a. html>. The feed of the Cuyahoga. Dir. Lawrence R. Hott. Perf. Cleveland. Ideastream , 2008. DVD.