Cuyahoga River Healthier After Two Dams Are Removed

Ann Arbor, MI — The middle part of the Cuyahoga River is flowing freely for the first time in more than 100 years - and the fish like it!

When the Cuyahoga River in Ohio caught fire in 1969, the fire also started the environmental movement in the United States and a big push to improve the health of the nation's rivers and lakes. The Cuyahoga River's health is much better, but there is more work to do to get to a completely healthy river. And getting there is hard to do! It's difficult for people to come to a decision whether or not to remove the dams for healthier rivers. Two slightly different ways to come to a decision about dam removal are explained.

The Ohio EPA studied the Cuyahoga River and completed a report titled "The Middle Cuyahoga River Watershed Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDL)". The report recommended that two dams in Kent and Munroe Falls, Ohio should be removed or modified to help make the river healthy. Ohio EPA used fish electroshocking and bug hotels to find out what's living in the river before and after the removal of two dams on the Cuyahoga River.

"It's pretty cool to see how quickly the river improved after the river was allowed to flow freely," says Steve Tuckerman, a biologist with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.

"If the Cuyahoga could speak, I am sure it would say 'Thank You'," says Bill Zawiski, also a biologist with Ohio EPA.

Original Publication Information

Results of this study "Case Studies of Dam Removal and TMDLs: Process and Results," are reported by Steve Tuckerman and Bill Zawiski in the latest issue (Volume 33, SI2, pp. 103-116) of the Journal of Great Lakes Research, published by the International Association for Great Lakes Research, 2007.

Contacts

For more information about the study, contact Steve Tuckerman, Ohio EPA Northeast District Office, 2110 East Aurora Road, Twinsburg, OH 44087; steve.tuckerman@epa.state.oh.us, (330) 963-1105.

For information about the Journal of Great Lakes Research, contact Marlene Evans, Editor, National Water Research Institute, 11 Innovation Boulevard, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 3H5, Canada; editor@iaglr.org; (608) 692-1076.

Links

Since 1967, IAGLR has served as the focal point for compiling and disseminating multidisciplinary knowledge on North America's Laurentian Great Lakes and other large lakes of the world and their watersheds. In part, IAGLR communicates this knowledge through publication of the Journal of Great Lakes Research, available to members in print and electronic form. A searchable archive of the journal is available online and includes the abstracts of articles from the journal's inception in 1975 through the most recent issue. In addition, complete articles are available to members who have signed up for an electronic subscription.