Banks are populated by steel mills and factories. Its channels are filled with ships. [ music ] the Cuyahoga River as it reaches lake erie after 100 mile twisting and turning journey from it waters, is a exhausted stream, abused and misused by men and their machines. Without the cuyahoga, the cleveland alkalines would not exist. For settling the portion of to revel the river was called crooked, it is a waterway into ohio. So man came, and continued coming. Until today, nearly 2 million people, live and work in the river basin. In creating this urban complex, man has used the river as man has always used rivers. The flow has been put to work as a stream, water supply, and as a sewer. Mans mark is everywhere. Is bismarck habitat for the cuyahoga, the Crooked River . [ music ] you are now going to see, a documented montage film of the cuyahoga. The server belong to the people, the people should decide, there many decisions that must be made in regards to your river i hope you participate in these decisions, the river has been cleaned up but it is made less meaningful or more meaning for for all the people in this nation. Thank you. The cuyahoga very nearly encircles clevelands. Its 100 mile watercourse which is an arc from the east, flowing to the south, curbing west and going its way to the glacial valley, due north through lake erie. The river finds its beginning in two branches. Northernmost being the east branch, located north of highway eight. The source visited here and a wooded area. [ music ] a shallow, quiet pool are very barely visible. Even in the spring of the year there is no observable fall oh flow of water. The water does begin to move ever so slowly. Amazingly, within 100 yards of the beginning, the stream begins to take form. Here, the river is surrounded by wildlife, and wildflowers. [ music ] the river cannot hide in a wooded seclusion for very long, a mile from its source it breaks out into the open. Looking more like a tiny stream than a river. The cuyahoga pushes its way to the south, largely ignored by man. The cuyahoga, approved to its name shows its crooked and wondering course almost immediately. The for the cuyahoga is five miles old its still clear waters are made to function for me in. The city of akron uses the river to furnish its water supply, to ensure the water the city will have enough throughout the cuyahoga watershed. Three rivers and pound the stream capturing a portion sometimes all, of the flow. Here, 1,000,000,000 1 2 gallons of water can be held back. Bank until the time a thirst the city needs it. The swollen stream that lays in wait until needed, is used as a fishing, swimming and camping recreation area. [ music ] downstream, near the village of perkins, the river meets the next Reservoir Lake walk well. Each spring a group of avid river buffs take to their boats and canoes. The annual downstream trip, has recreational value of this section of the river. [ music ] occasionally fallen trees block the stream making navigations a bit difficult. [ music ] from the banks of the river, the stream is filled with fresh river, from creeks and runs. A lively current moves the water on, breaking out into small falls near highland. And now men and homes move closed in on the river and with men, comes his debris. Rivers have always been considered a handy dumping places, the cuyahoga is no exception. The abuse has just begun, by the time the stream reaches its destiny at lake erie, it will take the. Full fury of man and his machine. The small beginnings of industry here, on the banks of the river. Oil, not discharge to calm troubled waters, but to be disposed of, symptoms of the disease that will kill the Crooked River. As the course of the cuyahoga brings us closer to cities and towns, nature still claims stubbornly on. Unable to work directly on the river because of pollution a Small Company every beaver, has trouble up to a stream and built a large. Beaver once were, and are along the river but today there are only two known beaver colonies the beaver colonies have been replaced, by roads of suburban homes, right to the rivers edge. Homes meaning sewage, sewage meaning sometimes a treatment plan to cleanse the water before returning it to the river. Properly treated, it discharges like this or they will not really harm the water. No treatment or leaky septic tanks will harm the water however. This is the raw sewage from one home and you multiply this in the end product is a smelly off colored brew that the stream can only accept small leak in in the smallest quantities. The city of akron spinal reservoir is Lake Rockwell located just north of kent ohio. The point where highway 14 crosses the lake is a favorite fishing spot. Here at the causeway, the current has deposited some of the debris brought downstream along with inconsiderate fishermen. The way to learn they say is by watching. Dad lets junior see what its about. Is and most of the water stored at the Lake Rockwell is destined to leave the river. The artificial lake, can and pound 2 million 300 million gallons of water. To build a sufficient reserve for city needs, akron can halt the downstream flow completely if need be. Cuyahogas waters are akrons lifeblood for more than 50 years, the city has been expanding a water Supply Reserve along the cuyahoga watershed. It is at this point that the city extracts its water from the river. As much as 75 million gallons can be pumped out of storage daily. Aftertreatment the residue of water pumped back out into the river is pretty much instant mud and solid. Now, the installation of new sludge is settling beds, from clearwater it promotes clearwater to return to the stream, Water Quality downstream is much better as a result. Downstream of Lake Rockwell is kent. Here again, the river is dense. The area of the sludge statement, has made a great improvement in the water, outdoorsmen bill proves the point. The public pressure on akron to put in the treatment was in large degree due to a campaign raised, a small bag proves that the fish has come back to this point of the cuyahoga. Of course just downstream from kent, destiny makes its own contribution to consider. The kent plant is currently working at overcapacity. When a Treatment Plant is pushed by too much volume theres only one immediate solution, put it there faster. The stronger the treatment the more impure the end product. The problem faced by the city of kent is typical, the only answer is expansion. Two and half Million Dollars are being sent to expand the plants, by 1980 is updated another edition will be needed. The cuyahoga amazon. Flowing west now. Down again at the misnamed munro falls, the river serves a paper manufacturing plant. On the north side of akron the cuyahoga makes its way to the city of cuyahoga falls. Once again, civilization and people mean industry and industrial waste. At high water in the spring, the tumbling Rushing Water pushing downstream, is a sight to behold. It courses through here, the river drops an astounding 225 feet. At a mile and a half. Slowly, the river turns north on the terminal stage of its trip to the mouth, and lake erie. North of akron, and far from Lake Rockwell, a portion of the water removed from there is now returned to the river. 6075 million gallons of sewage pass through here every day. The treated is arrogated to add more oxygen to the water. This separates the nonvoluble detergent creating mountains of suds. Also in the water are phosphates, nitrogen and un removed waste and bacteria. All of it more harmful than the visible forms. Further downstream, cleveland Treatment Plant will add another 75 million gallons of affluent to the rivers load each day, each day, half of the volume of the stream is affluent from the akron plant. During low flow conditions as much as 85 of the rivers water is escorted directly from the plant. Like many other Treatment Plants, akrons is laboring overcapacity. With proposed additions, treatment can be improved but for now, they hid the hidden invisible waste will multiply as the cuyahoga flows to the lake. As a cuyahoga twists and turns its way north, man and manufacturing are more in evidence. Unlikely there is a sight, these cars are not dumped here for disposal they are here for a purpose. The river lives up to its name. It is crooked. The cause it is a living thing, the stream keeps cutting into the banks, eroding itself and ever eroding path to hold back the itching fingers of water from the banks, the body shells are places offers not aesthetically pleasing, but they do hold back the erosive waters. This car, however does not serve the purpose it was just conveniently disposed of here. Framed gracefully by towering highway bridge, the cuyahoga moves on now, to meet the final hurdle on it journey. 94 miles old with only six miles you live, the cuyahoga emerges to face a six mile long channel, dredged into the face of the land. By this time, the waters of the Crooked River, are legally dead. 35 treatment plans have added their effluent to the stream, much of that discharge has been planned as inadequately treated. Industries has used and reused the declining waters and to the quality is so bad, that industries downstream us clean the water, before they can put it to their own uses. Of the 41 industries discharging directly into the cuyahoga, 19 barrett the owners of having been singled out for inadequately treating their waste. Because the man main channels of the lakes have disturbed the Natural Current flow, the waters of the cuyahoga industrial flat area, moves very slowly. It may take water from 830 days to move through the channel to the lake. During low flow conditions the cuyahoga has been known to smell. Lack of flow along with the staggering low and pollutions the stream must carry, makes this inevitable at times. The task of keeping the dredge and channel clear is a depth of 23 feet is a major expense in and of itself. This depth allows the lake breeders to breed in the river. They flush up more than 800,000 cubic yards of suit silt each year. Army corps of engineer working out or harbor 400 yards of sludge is pulled from that area, every year. To keep the channel clear, costs nearly 1 million per year. With akron demanding more, and more water, at Times Holding back the stream at Lake Rockwell there isnt enough water to go around and the cuyahoga. Its been proposed and not in just sometime in the foreseeable future a pipeline will have to connect the headwaters of lake erie so that enough water can be provided for the needs of the cities and industries along the banks. A river can be work, and the cuyahoga has been. A growing industrial admissible demand, that is bringing it to its limits. The cuyahoga will never expected to the scene again at a super helpful stream but it could be restored to good working conditions. The techniques to cleansing the river are available but the cost in dollars to build that is staggeringly imagination. The task of cleaning up the river can be likened to that of sweeping the stables the question is will it ever be done . Industry, federal, state and local has all had a stake in it. The wheels of change are very slow. Industry with an eye and that profit is reluctant to move with less than absolute pressure. Municipalities, meaning the tax rate and bonding limits look twice before leaping. Wire the conferences and committees continue, the dying flow of lake erie. It goes on. There isnt much of a scene like this anymore you have to look for them. You will discover our environment is not an endless supply. Years ago, people ug