Lake Erie: The Dead Lake Of North America - 1950's-70's Part 3

Lake Erie Is No More 


By the 1960's, and late 1960's in particular, Lake Erie became officially regarded as a "dead" lake.  The pollutants, in combination with the severe excess growth of algae left the lake in such a condition that it appeared to be unable to sustain any life.  The fishing industry of the region had long been declining due to the equally declining health of the lake, people no longer sought to use the lake for recreational purposes as they once did, and the once thriving environment of native aquatic life was brought to a state of complete, and utter decay.  

The picture above shows graffiti written on a fence near the shore of Lake Erie, calling for environmental  action to be taken.  The image was taken in 1976. 

The video below is an archived Cleveland news report dating from 1964 regarding the state of Lake Erie and the surrounding waterways at that time. 

Time For A Change

As mentioned earlier, the Canadian and American governments had little governance over Lake Erie and the surrounding waterways up until the late 1960's and early 1970's.  It was in the late 1960's that the governments began to take serious notice of the lake's horrific state, as well as the serious possibility that the lake was reaching a point of no return. 

With all the attention the "dead lake" was receiving throughout North-America, and the realization that something would have to be done, the American and Canadian governments needn't anything else to warrant action to be taken on their behalf to save the lake.  But still, they took no such needed action.  It was actually a fire on the Cuyahoga River which acted as the final catalyst for both governments to take the necessary action.  

The Cuyahoga River forms a horseshoe in Ohio, with both ends facing the lake.  However, only the left extremity of the river, which passes through Cleveland, connects to the lake.  

Map of the Cuyahoga River, in Ohio, USA.

Much like many of the rivers in the vicinity, the Cuyahoga was being utilized by industries in downtown Cleveland in order to rid themselves of their waste.  Consequently, the river had developed and maintained a reputation for being highly polluted.  What furthered the river's reputation was the fact that many of the pollutants found in the river were flammable, and the portion of the river which passed through Cleveland had in fact caught fire on numerous occasions.  Most notable was the 1952 river fire which caused one million dollars in damage to boats and a riverfront office building.  

The 1952 Cuyahoga River fire.

Surprisingly, the river's fires throughout the 1900's took little notice. Again, this shows that the gravity of the lake and associated river systems' situation had not been perceived by the general public, or governments for that matter.  It seems that until people had seen the lake itself degrading with they're own eyes, they were blind to how the pollutants were affecting it.  One would think that a river catching on fire would be enough to encourage something to be done about the (flammable) substances being put into the river, because those substances were no longer only environmental threats, but they then posed a direct danger to Cleveland, it's property, and it's people.  But alas, despite the damages caused by the fire,                                                                                           no significant action was taken.   


Sources:
1. http://clevelandhistorical.org/items/show/58#.UsmlxPRDuXs 
2. http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/aoc/cuyahoga/index.html

Images:
1. Lake Erie graffiti http://csudigitalhumanities.org/exhibits/items/show/1209
2. Cuyahoga River map http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuyahoga_River 
3. The 1952 fire http://realneo.us/content/cuyahoga-river-fire-1952-jefferson-st-and-w-3rd