Ohio inventions and firsts · Achievement · 1969
Cuyahoga River fire and the Clean Water Act
The Cuyahoga caught fire on June 22, 1969; the river had burned more than ten times over the previous century, and Time's coverage used a photo of the larger 1952 fire. The fire helped spur the EPA, Clean Water Act changes and Ohio EPA. Cleveland voters had already approved a $100 million bond issue in 1968 for sewers and water-treatment upgrades.
At a glance
- Year
- 1969
- Place
- Cleveland, Cuyahoga County ZIP 44113 · Cleveland · Cuyahoga County
The story
For more than a century the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland carried oil, chemicals and waste from the factories along its banks. The river had caught fire before, more than ten times over the previous century according to the National Park Service. The 1952 fire was far bigger than the one that made history.
On June 22, 1969, a spark from a passing rail car lit an oil slick on the river and burned a nearby railroad bridge. Damage was about $50,000. At first local media paid little attention.
The national attention came from Time magazine's August 1, 1969 issue, which ran an article on the river that said it oozes rather than flows, illustrated with a photo of the 1952 fire, not the 1969 one. It appeared alongside news of Apollo 11 and Chappaquiddick.
That year the fire and the Santa Barbara oil spill pushed pollution control forward. The sources link them to changes in the Clean Water Act, the creation of the federal Environmental Protection Agency, the Ohio EPA, and a December 1970 federal grand jury investigation of water pollution by northeast Ohio companies. Mayor Carl Stokes championed restoring the river, and in 1968 Cleveland voters had approved a $100 million bond issue for sewer construction and water-treatment upgrades.
Timeline
- 1952: A much larger river fire; its photo later illustrates the Time story. (Cleveland, OH) source
- 1968: Cleveland voters approve a $100 million bond issue for sewers and water-treatment upgrades. (Cleveland, OH) source
- 1969-06-22: A rail car spark ignites an oil slick; about $50,000 in damage to a railroad bridge. (Cleveland, OH) source
- 1969-08-01: Time magazine runs its story on the river, illustrated with a photo of the 1952 fire. source
- 1970-12: A federal grand jury investigates water pollution by northeastern Ohio companies. (Ohio) source
What it changed
- The fire damaged a railroad bridge, about $50,000 of harm.
- Helped spur the EPA, Ohio EPA and Clean Water Act changes.
- The 1968 bond issue was $100 million for sewers and water treatment.
Why it matters
Environmental turning point.
Worth knowing
The 1969 fire was not the river's worst. Earlier fires, such as the one in 1952, were worse.
Further reading
Sources
Confidence. High: the main facts were confirmed in sources we opened.