Curated trail · 5 places
Cayuga Island and the Little Niagara landscape
A guided route through altered shorelines, connected waterways, disposal sites, and cleanup records in eastern Niagara Falls.
- 01
Niagara Falls · Niagara County
Cayuga Island Industrial Fill Investigation
Residential portions of Cayuga Island were built on documented man-made extensions. A separate 1991 case traced contaminated residential fill to Occidental Chemical, and a renewed 2025–26 state investigation is evaluating mercury, BHC pesticides, soil vapor, indoor air, sump water, and possible exposure along West Rivershore Drive.
Open place record → - 02
Niagara Falls · Niagara County
Hooker / 102nd Street Landfill
Former industrial landfill where Occidental/Hooker and Olin deposited at least 159,000 tons of liquid and solid chemical waste. The remedy consolidated waste beneath a lined cap, added a slurry wall and recovery systems, and requires long-term groundwater and NAPL monitoring.
Open place record → - 03
Niagara Falls and Wheatfield · Niagara County
Bergholtz Creek
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.
Open place record → - 04
Niagara and Niagara Falls · Niagara County
Cayuga Creek — Niagara County
Niagara River tributary that New York lists as impaired for fishing and secondary-contact recreation because of dioxin. Its modern record also includes a 2016 discharge of an estimated 500 gallons of waste oil, PFAS detected in 2022 surface-water sampling upstream and downstream of the Niagara Falls airport, and a major stream-and-floodplain restoration project.
Open place record → - 05
Niagara Falls · Niagara County
Love Canal
Full history of chemical and municipal disposal, the 21,800-ton Hooker inventory, public-health response, cleanup, and continuing site management.
Open place record →