A 600-mile-long algae bloom on the Ohio River in 2015 sent officials scrambling to protect water supplies and looking for answers to prevent future blooms.
As towns on the Ohio River struggle to rebuild their economies, should they be trying to attract more industry or pushing to make the Ohio a recreation destination?
Adding hydropower capacity to the region's many existing dams could be a big new source of renewable energy. But some worry about the impact on the Three Rivers' still-recovering fisheries.
For years, regional agreements have been used to improve watersheds in places like the Chesapeake Bay and the Great Lakes. Some advocates argue the Ohio River needs one too.
Is putting a big solar array on the former coke plant site just a pipe dream? Maybe not. The utility that owns it actually has a robust recent history of investing in renewables.
From Shell's multi-billion-dollar ethane cracker to a new whitewater rafting park in Morgantown, there's a lot of new activity coming to the Upper Ohio River.
For deckhand Ryan Gilleran, life on the towboat means long days on the Ohio River. But moving the building blocks of modern life up and down the river is work that's easy to find pride in.
Call it a silver lining. But states along the Ohio River have much better safeguards for drinking water supplies today as a result of some past disasters.
