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Thousands of acres of wild rice grow at the mouths of the rivers feeding the lake, acting as filters for sediment.
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Human population increases dramatically. Raw sewage (oil, sawdust, animal carcasses, and human waste) dumped directly into the lake.
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Milss built to grind corn and wheat on most of the streams and rivers leading into the river.
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Population of fish species that migrate to spawn are reduced or eliminated.
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The Cuyahoga River catches fire.
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Phosphorus in soaps causes algae to bloom and over populate.
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The Cuyahoga River catches fire for a second time.
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Lake Erie declared dead as dead fish and decaying algae ring the shores. (Bacteria on decaying algae consumed oxygen in the lake, effectively suffocating many fish). (January 1st, 1970)
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President Nixon of the United States and Pierre Trudeau of Canada sign the Clean Water Act.
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Ohio passes ban on the sale of detergents containing phosporus.
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Consumers are warned not to eat catfish over 16 inches caught anywhere in Lake Erie.
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Lake Erie is popular for boating, fishing(walleye,pike,trout,perch,others) and swimming.
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Lake Erie considered one of the cleanest of the Great Lakes
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Lake Erie still in danger from continued non point source pollution and past pollution by PCBs, dioxin, mercury and DDT. (Trapped in the sediment, biomagnification.)
