I live right above the Ohio River, off of a thoroughfare called the Ohio River Boulevard. It is one section of Route 65 – a 51-mile stretch of highway that travels from downtown Pittsburgh, northwest to the city of New Castle. The route spans three counties, three major rivers and […]
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One Ohio River Town That’s Using Outdoor Recreation to Boost Its Economy
Every September, tourists flock to historic Marietta, along the banks of the Ohio River, for a celebration that harkens back to the Ohio Valley’s early days. The 44th annual Ohio River Sternwheel Festival held this year attracted an estimated 30,000 visitors to the small southeastern Ohio city. The streets buzzed […]
Read MorePaddling 300 Miles to Protect the Waters of Ohi:yo’, the ‘Good River’
For degawëno:da’s, paddling the length of the Allegheny River over the course of four months this year was to be a “witness to the raw element of the natural world.” The roughly 300-mile trip began on May 18 at the river’s headwaters near Coudersport, Pa., and ended on Sept. 21 […]
Read MoreThe Water is Cleaner but the Politics are Messier: A Look Back at the Clean Water Act Movement After 50 Years
In June 1969, a Time Magazine article garnered national attention when it brought to light the water quality conditions in Ohio: a river had literally caught fire. Oil-soaked debris ignited after sparks, likely from a passing train, set the slick ablaze. Local media actually didn’t spend much time reporting on […]
Read More‘That’s Vinegar’: The Ohio River’s History of Contamination and Progress Made
In 1958, researchers from the University of Louisville and the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission gathered at a lock on the Monongahela River for routine collecting, counting and comparing of fish species. At the time, the best way to accomplish this was what’s called lock chamber sampling, or filling […]
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