waterway · Niagara County
Bergholtz Creek
Niagara Falls and Wheatfield
Niagara County tributary linking the Love Canal drainage area to Cayuga Creek. State and federal cleanup removed dioxin-contaminated creek sediment during the late 1980s, while the current state waterbody listing separately identifies fecal coliform and phosphorus impairment associated with urban runoff.
The documented story
What happened here?
Bergholtz Creek is a Niagara County tributary in the Love Canal and Cayuga Creek drainage network. Black Creek joins it before Bergholtz enters Cayuga Creek, which then flows toward the Niagara River. That connected geography made the creek both a contaminant pathway and a defined part of the Love Canal remedy.
Investigators found that Love Canal contamination had migrated through storm and sanitary infrastructure to nearby waterways. The selected creek remedy focused on dioxin-contaminated sediment in Black and Bergholtz creeks rather than treating every downstream waterway as one uniform cleanup site.
The present impairment record is a separate chapter. DEC currently identifies fecal coliform and phosphorus—not dioxin—as the confirmed pollutants impairing fishing and secondary-contact recreation across the assessed Bergholtz Creek segment, with urban runoff identified in the listing history.
Chronology in context
Turning points in the public record
1942–1953
Hooker Electrochemical disposed of more than 21,000 tons of chemical waste at Love Canal, creating the source later addressed by the Superfund remedy.
1970s–1980s
Investigation documented contaminant migration through area sewers and into Black and Bergholtz creek sediment.
1986–1987
State contractors cleaned approximately 68,000 linear feet of storm and sanitary sewers associated with the broader Love Canal remedy.
1987–1990
Approximately 14,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment were removed from Black and Bergholtz creeks combined; clean material, riprap, and replanted banks completed the physical creek work.
2004–present
The state impaired-waters program identifies fecal coliform and phosphorus as continuing limitations associated with urban runoff.
News record
Major news events
Coverage selected here marks a turning point in public awareness, policy, enforcement, employment, or cleanup. Links open at the original publisher or archive; WNYAtlas does not reproduce restricted articles or images.
Love Canal remedy removes contaminated sediment from Bergholtz and Black creeks
Creek work excavated approximately 14,000 cubic yards of dioxin-contaminated sediment from the two waterways, placed clean material and riprap in the beds, and restored the banks. The combined volume should not be represented as Bergholtz Creek alone.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ↗The creek remains listed as impaired for pathogens and phosphorus
DEC's waterbody assessment identifies fecal coliform and phosphorus as the current confirmed causes limiting fishing and secondary-contact recreation, distinguishing present urban-runoff impairment from the historical Superfund sediment remedy.
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation ↗Chemical guide
Chemicals named in this record
These links explain potential hazards and exposure pathways. A chemical named in a record does not establish that anyone was exposed or harmed.
Environmental record
Documented impacts
- Dioxin and other Love Canal-related chemicals reached defined sewer and creek-sediment areas before remediation.
- The frequently cited 14,000-cubic-yard removal quantity covers Black and Bergholtz creeks together and cannot be assigned wholly to either creek.
- Current waterbody assessment confirms impairment of fishing and secondary-contact recreation from fecal coliform and phosphorus.
Response
Cleanup and controls
- Creek remediation excavated affected sediment, placed clean soil and erosion-resistant stone in creek beds, and restored the banks.
- Sediment was dewatered, stabilized, packaged, and ultimately sent through approved thermal-treatment or disposal routes under the Love Canal remedy.
- Long-term Love Canal reviews evaluate the containment system and associated remedial components, while modern runoff and pathogen impairment belongs to water-quality management rather than the completed sediment excavation alone.
Then and now
The site today
Bergholtz Creek is both a completed Superfund sediment-remedy corridor and a currently impaired urban waterbody. The historical dioxin excavation does not establish present dioxin conditions everywhere, and its completion did not resolve later pathogen and nutrient problems.