Cuyahoga River

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Cuyahoga River in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park

The Cuyahoga River (IPA pronunciation: [ˌkaɪəˈhɔgə]) is located in Northeast Ohio. It begins its 100 mile (160 km) journey in Geauga County, then flows south to Cuyahoga Falls, where it turns sharply north and flows through the Cuyahoga Valley National Park (CVNP). It then flows through Cleveland where it empties into Lake Erie. The river drains 813 square miles (2,105 km²) of land in portions of six counties. Native Americans referred to the U-shaped river as the Cuyahoga or "crooked river".

Description

File:DSCN4584 cuyahogariverincleveland e.jpg
The Cuyahoga River viewed from downtown Cleveland

The river is a recent geological formation, formed by the advance and retreat of the last ice sheet during the last ice age. When the final retreat occurred 10-12,000 years ago, the glacier scooped the land and caused changes in the drainage pattern near Akron which resulted in the south-flowing Cuyahoga precursor to turn north and create the U-shape we see today. As the Cuyahoga river found its way to Lake Erie it had to flow around glacial debris left by the receding ice sheet. The meanderings caused the river to take a 100-mile (160 km) journey from its headwaters to its mouth, which was only 30 miles (50 km) when travelled directly.

The lower Cuyahoga River has been subject to numerous changes. Originally, the river met Lake Erie approximately 4,000 feet west of its existing mouth, forming a shallow marsh. The new cut west of present-day Downtown Cleveland allowed traffic to flow freely between the river and the lake. Furthermore, while the natural depth of the Cuyahoga River is 3 to 6 feet, for the last 5 miles of its course from the Mittal Steel Cleveland Works to its mouth, it is dredged to a depth of 27 feet by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to accommodate ship traffic that serves the industries located on the River. The Cuyahoga has also been straightened and widened along the Federal Navigation Channel to facilitate maritime operations.

History

The river's mouth at Lake Erie in Cleveland, circa 1920

Fires plagued the Cuyahoga beginning in 1936 when a spark from a blow torch ignited floating debris and oils. Fires erupted on the river several more times before June 22, 1969, when a river fire captured the attention of Time magazine, which described the Cuyahoga as the river that "oozes rather than flows" and in which a person "does not drown but decays". This event helped spur an avalanche of pollution control activities resulting in the Clean Water Act, Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, and the creation of the federal and state Environmental Protection Agency. As a result, large point sources of pollution on the Cuyahoga have received significant attention from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency in recent decades. These events are referred to in Randy Newman's 1972 song "Burn On" and R.E.M.'s 1986 song "Cuyahoga." Water quality has improved and, in recognition of this improvement, the Cuyahoga River was designated as one of 14 American Heritage Rivers in 1998. Yet, pollution problems, including nonpoint source problems, Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs)[1], and stagnation due to water impounded by dams, remain. For this reason, the Environmental Protection Agency classified portions of the Cuyahoga River Watershed as one of 43 Great Lakes Areas of Concern.

Dams on the Cuyahoga

The largest dam is the Ohio Edison Dam in Akron, near Cuyahoga Falls. This 57-foot dam has for over 90 years flooded the Falls over which the City of Cuyahoga Falls was named; more to the point of water quality, it has created a large stagnant pool with low dissolved oxygen[2]. Two other dams, in Kent and in Munroe Falls, though smaller, have had a greater impact on water quality due to the lower gradient in their respective reaches. For this reason, the Ohio EPA has required the communities to mitigate the effects of the dams. The Kent Dam was bypassed in 2004[3]; the Munroe Falls Dam was modified in the Summer of 2005[4].

During the modification of the Munroe Falls Dam in Summer, 2005, a natural waterfall was uncovered[5]. Given this new knowledge about the riverbed, some interested parties, including Summit County, campaigned for complete removal of the dam. The revised plan, initially denied on September 20, 2005, was approved by the Munroe Falls City Council on September 27, 2005. The dam, constructed of sandstone blocks, has been removed, replacing an 11.5-foot dam with a natural ledge which is 4.5 feet high at its maximum drop.[6] [7]

Ohio Edison Dam

The Ohio Edison Dam was built in 1912 to serve the dual functions of generating hydropower and providing cooling-water storage for a coal-burning power plant; however, the hydropower operation was discontinued in 1958, and the coal-burning plant was decommissioned in 1991[8]. Some environmental groups, including American Rivers and Friends of the Crooked River, and recreational groups, including the Cleveland-based Keel-haulers Canoe Club and American Whitewater, want the dam removed[9]. Others contend that such an effort would be expensive and complicated, for at least two reasons: 1) the formerly hollow dam was filled in with concrete in the early 1990's, and 2) because of the industrial history of Cuyahoga Falls, the sediment upstream of the dam is expected to contain hazardous chemicals, possibly including heavy metals and PCBs. The Ohio EPA estimates that removal of the dam would cost $5-10 million; removing the contaminated sediments, $60 million.[10] The dam is licensed through 2041.

Advanced Hydro Solutions, a company based in Fairlawn, Ohio, recently filed a notice of intent to utilize the dam to generate hydropower. They say that hydropower is a cleaner source of power and that the emissions saved by the plant will be the equivalent of taking 10,000 cars off the road[11]. Citing concerns with erosion, dewatering of the scenic river reach below the dam, and use that is inconsistent with the Gorge MetroPark's purpose, opponents to this plan include, in addition to environmental and recreational groups, some governmental agencies, including Metro Parks, Serving Summit County, the U.S. Department of the Interior, and the Ohio EPA; At public meetings held on July 27, 2005, the proposed project, which would only generate enough electricity to power 2000 homes, encountered substantial opposition. The final decision from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on the project is due in July, 2009.[12]

See also

References

  • Downing, Bob (July 28, 2005). "Hydropower plan hits rough water". Akron Beacon Journal.
  • Keren, Phil (2004). "Removal could be in dam's future". Cuyahoga Falls News-Press.
  • Keren, Phil (2005). "Change proposed for Gorge Dam". Cuyahoga Falls News-Press.
  • Passell, Lauren (2005). "Metro Parks discuss future of Gorge Dam". Cuyahoga Falls News-Press.
  • Akron Beacon Journal Editorial (2005). All Wet. Retrieved July 29, 2005.
  • AP / Cleveland Plain Dealer. Dam removal to return Cuyahoga to natural, free-flowing state. Posted September 29, 2005; retrieved October 6, 2005.
  • Downing, Bob (September 22, 2005). "Munroe Falls dam to stand, but shorter". Akron Beacon Journal.
  • AP / Cleveland Plain Dealer. Dam removal to return Cuyahoga to natural, free-flowing state. Posted September 29, 2005; retrieved October 6, 2005.
  • Kuehner, John C. (March 2, 2006). "Hydroelectric project has upstream battle". Cleveland Plain Dealer.

External links

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