Buffalo River AOC case study showcases rebirth of “Queen City of the Great Lakes”

Nov 26, 2018

The Buffalo River has gone from a severely degraded waterway to one of Buffalo's greatest assets. Decades of industrial and municipal contamination had overwhelmed the river, even resulting in a fire on the river in 1968. Named as one of the Great Lakes most polluted waterways in the 1980s, the river has since undergone a substantial cleanup effort fostered by public-private partnerships, and in recent years, federal funding from the Great Lakes Legacy Act and the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. Now the river attracts new developments and provides a popular destination for all sorts of recreational opportunities. Learn more about this recovery in our latest report in our series that evaluates achievements and lessons learned from 32 years of efforts to clean up Great Lakes AOCs.