🚣 The Cuyahoga River was so polluted it caught fire - now it's making a comeback

• The Cuyahoga River in Ohio has undergone a dramatic improvement from being one of America's most polluted waterways to now having water quality good enough to reintroduce sturgeon.
• The river that used to regularly catch fire due to industrial pollution is now home to blue herons, bald eagles and attracts hundreds of paddlers from surrounding states.
• Extensive environmental work to remove dams and improve sewage systems has led to expectations that the river will meet all EPA water quality standards by 2030.

Sturgeon shows river's recovery

A team of conservationists recently released several dozen lake sturgeon into the Cuyahoga River, about a mile from Lake Erie's shore. Each fish is equipped with a small transmitter to track their development. If successful, larger releases are planned for next year, NPR reports.

Brian Schmidt, fish biologist at the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, explains that sturgeon need clean bottom substrate for their eggs to survive. The improved water quality in the Cuyahoga has now made this possible.

From industrial dump to recreation area

For several decades, the Cuyahoga River was a dumping ground for industrial waste. By the 1960s, it had become a completely unregulated sewer. The river caught fire several times, with a particularly severe fire in 1952.

Today, the situation is completely different. Restaurants line the riverbank and the area has become a popular destination. The annual Blazing Paddles Paddlefest this year attracted hundreds of participants from 12 states.

Extensive environmental improvements

Cleveland and Akron, the two largest cities along the river, have implemented significant upgrades to their sewage systems. Akron has eliminated all sanitary sewer overflows and made major improvements to the wastewater treatment plant.

Another important project is the removal of a series of dams. This restores the river's natural flow and allows fish species to recover. Don Howdyshell, an experienced kayaker, reports now seeing beaver, mink and otters along certain parts of the Cuyahoga.

The largest dam to be removed is the Gorge Dam. Before this can happen, a large amount of contaminated sediment must be removed from the dam's reservoir. This is estimated to take three years and work is planned to start next year.

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