Akron was the Rubber Capital of the World. Goodyear, Firestone, B.F. Goodrich, General Tire — they all started here, and for decades the city’s economy ran on vulcanized rubber and the chemicals that made it. The environmental footprint of that era hasn’t fully faded.
The city’s drinking water comes from two primary reservoirs — Lake Rockwell and the Mogadore Reservoir — both in the upper Cuyahoga River watershed. The Cuyahoga, of course, is the river that caught fire in 1969, an event so shocking it helped catalyze the Clean Water Act and the creation of the EPA.
The Cuyahoga River: From Burning to Recovery
The Cuyahoga’s fire wasn’t actually its first — the river had caught fire at least 13 times since 1868. Industrial discharges from steel mills, chemical plants, and manufacturing operations along the river’s lower reach near Cleveland turned it into an open sewer. Oil slicks, chemical waste, and floating debris were common.
Akron sits in the upper Cuyahoga watershed, well south of where the river burned. The reservoirs that supply the city draw from tributaries in the more rural Portage County area. But the Cuyahoga’s contamination story extends upstream too. Agricultural runoff, legacy industrial sites, and suburban development in Summit and Portage counties all contribute to the source water quality that Akron’s treatment plants must manage.
The Akron Water Supply Bureau operates the Lake Rockwell Water Treatment Plant, which processes up to 70 million gallons per day using conventional treatment: coagulation, sedimentation, sand filtration, and chlorine disinfection. The water consistently meets EPA standards, but the source water challenges require constant vigilance.
Rubber Industry Contamination
The rubber and tire industry defined Akron for over a century. At its peak, the industry employed tens of thousands of workers and consumed vast quantities of petroleum-based chemicals, solvents, and heavy metals. The waste products went… everywhere.
Multiple former rubber manufacturing sites in Akron are listed on the EPA’s National Priorities List or are under state-supervised cleanup. The Firestone Industrial Products Company site, the old BFGoodrich plant areas, and various smaller operations left contaminated soil and groundwater throughout the city.
Common contaminants associated with rubber manufacturing include volatile organic compounds (VOCs) like benzene and toluene, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), heavy metals including zinc, lead, and cadmium, and various processing chemicals. Many of these compounds persist in groundwater and can migrate over time.
While these sites don’t directly contaminate Akron’s reservoir-based drinking water supply, they affect shallow groundwater and surface water quality in tributaries that ultimately feed the Cuyahoga system. The Ohio EPA’s remediation programs at these sites are ongoing.
PFAS: The Modern Contamination Concern
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances have been detected in water supplies across Ohio, and the Akron area is no exception. The sources are multiple: firefighting foam use at airports and military facilities, industrial applications, and consumer product manufacturing.
The Akron-Canton Airport (CAK) and nearby industrial operations are potential PFAS sources in the area. Ohio EPA has been conducting statewide PFAS sampling, and Summit County water systems have been included in testing programs.
Akron’s treated water has generally tested below the EPA’s 2024 PFAS maximum contaminant levels, but the detection of any PFAS is a reminder that these persistent chemicals are virtually everywhere in the modern environment. The city is evaluating treatment upgrades — likely granular activated carbon — to ensure compliance as federal standards tighten.
Combined Sewer Overflows
Akron, like Cleveland and many older Ohio cities, operates a combined sewer system. Heavy rain overwhelms the system, and the overflow — a mix of stormwater and raw sewage — discharges into the Cuyahoga River and its tributaries.
The city has been under a federal consent decree since 2009, requiring billions of dollars in infrastructure improvements to reduce CSO volume. Akron’s approach has been notably green-infrastructure-heavy: the city has invested in rain gardens, bioretention cells, permeable pavement, and green roofs throughout targeted neighborhoods.
The green infrastructure program has been recognized nationally as a model for combining CSO reduction with community revitalization. But the scale of the problem — Akron experiences over 2 billion gallons of CSO annually during wet years — means the solution requires both green and gray infrastructure over multiple decades.
Harmful Algal Blooms: A Lake Erie Basin Concern
While Akron’s reservoirs haven’t experienced the severe harmful algal blooms that plague western Lake Erie, the nutrient dynamics are similar. Phosphorus and nitrogen from agricultural runoff and urban stormwater feed algal growth in the reservoirs, particularly during warm, still conditions.
The Akron Water Supply Bureau monitors for cyanotoxins (microcystins) in its source water and treated water. The Ohio EPA established state drinking water standards for microcystins after the 2014 Toledo water crisis, and all public water systems drawing from surface water must test regularly.
Lake Rockwell’s algal bloom risk is moderate — its deeper waters and better circulation provide some protection compared to the shallow western Lake Erie basins. But as summer temperatures increase and storm patterns shift, the risk is expected to grow.
What Akron Residents Can Do
Akron’s water treatment is solid, and the utility’s compliance record is good. The main areas of concern for residents are lead in older homes and the general industrial legacy of the region:
- Test for lead — Akron’s older neighborhoods (Firestone Park, Kenmore, North Hill, West Akron) have housing stock from the lead plumbing era. The city offers water testing information.
- Check your CCR — the Consumer Confidence Report details every contaminant tested and its level relative to federal limits.
- Private well users in Summit and Portage counties should test for VOCs and PFAS, particularly near former industrial sites.
- Support watershed protection — the health of Lake Rockwell and Mogadore Reservoir depends on land use decisions upstream.
If you’re concerned about your water quality, a certified water treatment professional can help you test your water and recommend the right solution for your home.