Recording the Gorge Dam

Yesterday, I drove down to Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, to record the sound of water pouring over the Gorge Dam. This massive 70-foot-high concrete dam, constructed in 1913 by Northern Ohio Traction & Light Co. to generate hydroelectric power, was decommissioned in 1958 and has sat dormant since. It remains the last remaining large structural impediment to an otherwise free-flowing Cuyahoga River. Making the trip and recording the Gorge Dam is something I’ve done several times. There’s a reason.

Finally, after years of planning, the dam is to be deconstructed and removed starting this month. Consequently, access to my recording area, the observation platform, will be no more. In my imagination, they blow up the dam with old wooden cases full of ACME dynamite. Kind of like what you’d see in old Saturday morning cartoons. A remote camera and microphone on that viewing platform as the dam ‘explodes’ would have been awesome. Sadly, such is not the case.

Starting in a couple of weeks, years of contaminated sediment lodged against the back side of the dam will be piped away to a permanent holding area not too far away. It’s estimated that over 832,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment have accumulated behind the dam. Yuck! The Cuyahoga River was famous for catching fire multiple times upriver near its mouth in Cleveland, but I’ll bet that there is plenty of nastiness lurking below here as well. When the deconstruction and river restoration is complete, I want to hear if and how the quality of the soundscape differs from what I’ve captured in the past.

“Quality” is a subjective term, and in this instance, it’s all in the ear of the beholder. One person’s white noise is another person’s bedside clock radio late-night lullaby. I’ve recorded when the water flow was so intense following a big rain that the spray coming off the dam hit my face. At other times, I’ve recorded on peaceful days where the streamflow seemed about average. While decibel levels increased after a storm, I wouldn’t say the sound quality changed that much.

The Cuyahoga River descends 200 feet within a two-mile stretch here. The dam’s removal will once again expose the rocky falls that lie beneath the concrete, providing kayakers with a thrilling albeit bumpy ride through Class V rapids and sightseers with a view not seen since their great-grandparents’ time. As for me, I would like to think that post-removal, a natural waterfall will sound better in terms of “quality” than an artificial one. Time will tell. So stay tuned, in a few years, provided the observation deck is still in place, I’ll be right back in the same spot to record again.

Below, listen to three different recordings I’ve captured of Gorge Dam. In each instance, the iPhone’s audio has been replaced with audio equipment listed in the recording specifics. Mind you, this has not been a strictly scientific study. Different recorders and microphones have been used throughout. Gauge height and streamflow observations come from the USGS monitoring station Cuyahoga River at Old Portage OH, which is approximately 2.7 miles downriver from the falls as the crow flies.

June 2, 2022 Around 6:30 p.m.

• Temperature = 67F 
• Relative humidity = 58 percent 
• SPL reading at observation deck = 78.5 dBA
• Stream height * = 3.36 feet
• streamflow * = 356 CFS
• Sound Devices 702 recorder
• Clippy EM 172 omnidirectional microphone x2 inside DIY binaural head
  
  

March 7, 2023 Around 10:15 a.m.

• Temperature = 39F
• SPL reading at observation deck = 84 dBA
• Gage height = 6.3 feet
• Streamflow = 1,600 cfs
• Sound Devices 702 recorder
• Clippy EM 172 omnidirectional microphone x2 inside binaural head

July 9, 2025 Around 1:45 p.m.

• Temperature = 83F
• Relative humidity = 53 percent
• Streamflow = 234 CFS
• Stream height = 2.95 feet
• SPL reading at observation deck = 78.5 dBA
• Zoom F3 recorder
• Audio Technica 3032 omnidirectional microphones housed inside a DIY SASS