To uniquely commemorate the 50th anniversary of the June 22, 1969 Cuyahoga River fire, I traveled the length of the river – from headwaters to Lake Erie – recording its underwater soundscape during a nine-month period in 2017 and 2018. Dipping hydrophones (underwater microphones) into the water opened up an otherwise unheard sonic world.
Now I was able to listen to the subtle sounds of barely discernible aquatic life, to the natural sounds of flowing water where a dam stood for years before, to rhythmic sounds of kayak paddles cutting into the water, and finally, to the penetrating noise of tug boats and lake tankers motoring through the Flats toward the lake. What I discovered is that this once polluted environmental disaster is back from the dead.