Niagara River

To keep waters navigable, they have to be dredged to allow the removal of vast volumes of wet sludge so ships can get through. Experts from around the Great Lakes are in town to see what this area does with dredged materials.

Freshwater mussels once filled the Great Lakes and all of its tributaries, only to have the population erode as the water went bad and overseas invasive species became a problem. However, research at the University at Buffalo is suggesting some mussels are recovering, as are the lakes.

Cyclists and joggers can now exercise worry-free with the official opening of the West River Road Shoreline Trail in Grand Island.

At a gathering Wednesday evening, there was enough wind to blow out memorial candles. Cops and civilians gathered to remember Buffalo Police Lt. Craig Lehner, who died a year ago during an Underwater Rescue Team training drill.

Researchers at SUNY Buffalo State are concerned that climate change could be helping to lay the groundwork for an eventual collapse of the Niagara River’s ecosystem. Populations of the Emerald Shiner minnow have been cut drastically this summer. As Investigative Post's Sara Jerving reports, researchers worry that as the region continues to heat up, this could become the new norm.

Public safety divers like the Buffalo Police underwater recovery unit are supposed to take their training slow. For example, experts say the norm in training how to dive in swift currents is to start in water that’s moving somewhere between one and four knots. But on the day Officer Craig Lehner trained in the Niagara River last October, the currents were eight to 12 knots.

A name from Buffalo's past is in the planning for a Greenway project in downtown Buffalo aimed at improving access to the waterfront.

The Niagara Falls Water Board says things are turning around at its troubled Wastewater Treatment Plant. The plant became internationally infamous in July of last year, when it dumped black material into the middle of a tourist-filled section of the Niagara River.

The Niagara Falls, ON Council meets Tuesday night and is expected to demand the Niagara Falls, NY Water Board do something to stop overflows of sewage into the Niagara River that borders the United States and Canada.

In a world of high-tech searches, Buffalo Police are continuing to apply the knowledge of decades of experience working on and around the Niagara River, as the search for Officer Craig Lehner continues into a fifth day.

The search for missing Buffalo Police diver Craig Lehner continued on Monday. Though unsuccessful, police vowed to pick up the search again on Tuesday.

The Niagara County Legislature raised the stakes on the Niagara River black sludge spill by seeking criminal investigations on local, state and federal levels.

The Niagara Falls Water Board is apologizing for the sewage dump into the Niagara River on Saturday. Water Board Chairman Dan O'Callaghan read a prepared statement and refused to take questions, during a quick appearance Thursday afternoon outside board headquarters.

It is now an international incident - and soon to be a possible criminal investigation. Canada and the Niagara County Legislature are calling for further investigation into the sewage dumped into the Niagara River over the weekend.