Work is back under way to clean up a long-polluted stretch of the Cuyahoga River in Gorge Metro Park.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has resumed dredging sediment from the river after a winter pause due to freezing temperatures. Crews are removing contaminated material that has built up behind the Gorge Dam for decades.
That sediment contains pollutants like oil, heavy metals, and industrial chemicals, substances that can pose risks to both people and wildlife.
The cleanup is a major effort. Officials say more than 850,000 cubic yards of contaminated material will be removed and transported downstream, where it will be safely contained.
The goal is to improve water quality and eventually restore the river for safer recreation and fishing.
This project is part of a broader push to clean up the Cuyahoga River, which remains one of several “Areas of Concern” across the Great Lakes due to past environmental damage.
The Gorge Dam itself is also expected to be removed in a separate project.
