Grassroots Profile
New Controversy on the Cuyahoga River
By Elaine Marsh
The Cuyahoga River, the infamous
burning river, is the center of another
controversy with far flung implications
for the Clean Water Act. The 100 mile
river falls 700 feet from its source to Lake
Erie at its mouth. Thirty percent of that drop,over 200 feet,occurs
in a two mile stretch through the City of Cuyahoga Falls, creating
a series of spectacular cascades and rapids.
Since the mid 1800’s, the power of the Upper Falls was captured
in a series of dams, used for mills, turbine power and cooling
water pools. At the same time, the High Bridge Glens and Caves
resort, which occupied the Great Gorge and Lower Falls, was the
region’s greatest tourist attraction.
By the turn of the century, deteriorating water quality was
impacting the resort’s business. Property changed hands.
Northern Power and Light Company purchased land to build a
dam and power house for hydroelectricity output at the site of
the “Great Falls”. During the 1913 construction, concerns about
the river’s hydro-generation capacity added a coal-fired power
plant to the design to guarantee electrical output from the site.
In 1958, the owners of the dam, then Ohio Edison, abandoned the
site as a hydro electric source, due to unpredictable water flow
and low efficiency. Since that time, several entities have investigated
reestablishing hydroelectric operations at the site. All
schemes were abandoned until 2003 when Advanced Hydro
Solutions began the application process with the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission (FERC) to obtain a license on the dam
that would last for fifty years.
This proposal has raised objections from around the watershed.
Nearly 400 people attended a FERC public meeting in July 2004.
Seven governmental entities opposed the project. Eighteen
nongovernmental organizations opposed the project. Of the
87 speakers, not one supported the project.
The project site is in the middle of Gorge Metro Park. The Park
District opposes the project on the grounds that it will have
serious environmental, aesthetic and recreational impacts on
park lands and visitors and that it produces very little power. The
applicant claims that 2,000 households will be served. There are
235,136 dwelling units in Summit County. Over 140,000 residents
use the park each year. Despite the Park District’s opposition, the
applicant was able to gain standing as they were granted an
easement from First Energy, current owner of the dam, who
claims easement rights in the park.
We believe that this project is headed in the wrong direction.
Since the Clean Water Act, public treatment works and private
companies have spent over a billion dollars cleaning up the
Cuyahoga. The elimination of sewer overflows will cost another
billion dollars. Dams and their negative effects on the attainment
of aquatic life standards have focused Ohio EPA attention on the
removal and modification of non-functioning Cuyahoga dams. In
the last five years, over 7 million public and private dollars have
been invested in removing and modifying two dams along the
river. Three others are being studied for removal.
If a license is granted by FERC, it will perpetuate, for fifty years,
one of the most significant impediments to water quality on the
Cuyahoga River, the dam, itself. Water quality experts,
municipalities, and citizens all feel strongly based on the
Preliminary Application Document forwarded by Advanced
Hydro Solutions will have serious impact to water quality on the
Cuyahoga and jeopardizes all future efforts to revitalize the river.
The dewatering of over 800 feet of the River will seriously
compound combined sewer overflow pollution causing
increased threats to aquatic and human populations. The actual
construction of the project will accelerate soil erosion and
sedimentation into the River. The minuscule power production,
and the loss of public benefit to a for profit company operating
on our public lands is untenable to almost all in our region,
except the project applicant.
Friends of the Crooked River is partnering with other
organizations and agencies in opposing the FERC application. We
believe that removing the dam and Freeing the Great Falls would
provide untold economic benefits as a tourist attraction and as a
destination for advanced white water paddlers. For more
information, go to www.summitmetoparks.org. Or contact
ohgreenway@aol.com.
For more information:
Elaine Marsh, Friends of the Crooked River
2390 Kensington Rd, Akron, OH 44333
(330) 657-2055 • ohgreenway@aol.com
Disclaimer:
The interpretations and conclusions presented in this newsletter represent the opinions of the individual authors. They in no way represent the views of the Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council, the C.S. Mott Foundation, subscribers, donors, or any organization mentioned in this publication.
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