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Deceptive Beauty










Akron Reservoir



The Cuyahoga River has long been a focus of environmentalists, due to its high propensity to catch fire. Since 1969, the river has burst into flames an astounding thirteen times. During the industrial boom of the 1950s and 60s, factories in Akron and Cleveland saw the river as an easy dumping ground for liquid waste, turning the river into a dangerous cesspool nearly devoid of all life.

The river no longer bursts into flames. It no longer resembles a lifeless cesspool of toxic sludge. To a casual observer, the problems may seem to have simply vanished. It is this deceptive beauty that stands to undermine the river’s recovery. Life is returning. However, urban expansion, continued industrial activity, and overall poor water treatment methods threaten to disrupt this uncertain recovery. Bank erosion, human pollution, and run-off are among many of the challenges that must be faced before this river is fully restored.


M. Katie White






Summit Lake




Drainage in The Valley




Electric River Crossing




Cuyahoga Falls, Partially Removed Dam





Drainage in The Valley #2




River Dump




Lock 29 Akron, Ohio




EPA Brownfield Recovery Site




Removed Dam Kent, Ohio




Downstream from Kent Dam




EPA Bank Erosion Project




Cuyahoga River Cleveland, Ohio




Lock 29 Akron, Ohio




Factory drain Akron, Ohio




Akron Reservoir Dam




Business in the Valley




Tree Erosion




Lock 29 Path Akron, Ohio




Towpath Cleveland, Ohio




Wildlife Restoration Area A




The Flats




Akron Sewage




1907




Bank Erosion Peninsula, Ohio




Fishing Akron,Ohio




View of the Flats




Trash view




Debris downstream from Akron Dam







ALL IMAGES
© M.KATIE WHITE 2023