Bay Swim Will Mark Magnificent Rebirth 

On June 28, 300 people will swim across Presque Isle Bay to remind the Erie region how it is reclaiming a body of water that it once ruined with decades of pollution and neglect. 

The Presque Isle Bay cleanup started only after the bay hit rock bottom. The bay had become a dumping area, filled with sewage and industrial pollutants. The International Joint Commission, a U.S. partnership with Canada, added the Presque Isle Bay to a watch list of 42 "areas of concern." New environmental organizations formed, including the Erie Harbor Improvement Council, and the Presque Isle Bay Public Advisory Committee. Eventually, the city of Erie, through a court order, was forced to make $100 million in improvements to better handle wastewater, which contributed significantly to the massive bay cleanup. The advisory committee, working with the PADEP, requested that the "area of concern" status be changed to "recovery stage" in 2002. http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080402/OPINION01/804020361/-1/OPINION

Erie Times News, April 2, 2008