Uploaded November 2012 | Updated September 2026, 10 hours ago
The pollution of our waterways became a national issue in June of 1969, the day that the Cuyahoga River, flowing through Cleveland, Ohio, on its way to Lake Erie, caught on fire because it was so polluted. Although this was not the first time that the Cuyahoga River had been in flames, the 1969 fire caught the attention of the nation and the fight began for increased water pollution controls, which eventually led to the Great Lakes Water Quality Act and Clean Water Act in the 1970s. In the late 1960s, pollution was so pervasive on the river that cleanup crews weren't called unless there was an oil slick or other known industrial spill of more than 2,000 gallons. "The river was always dirty, that was the way it was," said a cleanup worker. "And it never froze, there was so much heat in the water coming from the cooling waters of the steel mills." The pollution included everything from fats and grease from slaughterhouses and rendering plants along the river to acids used in steelmaking or dyes from paint plants -- along with much of the raw or partially treated sewage from the entire Cleveland-Akron area. For more, go to blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/01/after_the_flames_the_story_beh.html.
This is clipped from the 1969 film titled Problems of Conservation -- Water by the Encyclopedia Britannica films. The entire film describes communities and localities which have water supply problems, and shows the pollution of the Great Lakes and other areas. The film inquiries into the problems of water shortage, drought, increased demands and water pollution. The film also shows how drinking water can be obtained from the ocean. The film's director, John Walker was a long-time filmmaker at Encyclopedia Britannica films (EB) whose films bridged the era between the staid, didactic titles of the 1950s, and the exciting new science films in the 1960s. Walker, who made over 80 films for EB. In 1933 Walker was hired by the National Park Service as a motion picture photographer to help film achievements of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). He covered over 40,000 miles for the CCC, and was selected to work with ERPI films to develop a series of six films on geology. In 1937, he was permanently hired by ERPI, which soon was absorbed under the Encyclopedia Britannica umbrella. The entire film is available at the US National Archive Motion Picture collection in College Park, Maryland.
The pollution of our waterways became a national issue in June of 1969, the day that the Cuyahoga River, flowing through Cleveland, Ohio, on its way to Lake Erie, caught on fire because it was so polluted. Although this was not the first time that the Cuyahoga River had been in flames, the 1969 fire caught the attention of the nation and the fight began for increased water pollution controls, which eventually led to the Great Lakes Water Quality Act and Clean Water Act in the 1970s. In the late 1960s, pollution was so pervasive on the river that cleanup crews weren't called unless there was an oil slick or other known industrial spill of more than 2,000 gallons. "The river was always dirty, that was the way it was," said a cleanup worker. "And it never froze, there was so much heat in the water coming from the cooling waters of the steel mills." The pollution included everything from fats and grease from slaughterhouses and rendering plants along the river to acids used in steelmaking or dyes from paint plants -- along with much of the raw or partially treated sewage from the entire Cleveland-Akron area. For more, go to blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/01/after_the_flames_the_story_beh.html.
This is clipped from the 1969 film titled Problems of Conservation -- Water by the Encyclopedia Britannica films. The entire film describes communities and localities which have water supply problems, and shows the pollution of the Great Lakes and other areas. The film inquiries into the problems of water shortage, drought, increased demands and water pollution. The film also shows how drinking water can be obtained from the ocean. The film's director, John Walker was a long-time filmmaker at Encyclopedia Britannica films (EB) whose films bridged the era between the staid, didactic titles of the 1950s, and the exciting new science films in the 1960s. Walker, who made over 80 films for EB. In 1933 Walker was hired by the National Park Service as a motion picture photographer to help film achievements of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). He covered over 40,000 miles for the CCC, and was selected to work with ERPI films to develop a series of six films on geology. In 1937, he was permanently hired by ERPI, which soon was absorbed under the Encyclopedia Britannica umbrella. The entire film is available at the US National Archive Motion Picture collection in College Park, Maryland.
