PERSPECTIVE: What if a toxic spill the likes of Colorado's #AnimasRiver struck the Cuyahoga?

While the Cuyahoga River has had its share of challenges, none compare to the catastrophe going on in Colorado.

An Environmental Protection Agency project to reduce pollution seeping into the Animas River resulted in a breach that caused an estimated 3 million gallons of gold-mine wastewater to rush into the river, turning the water mustard yellow and leaving officials scrambling to assess the damage while residents seek answers and await test results.

As an agency prepared to respond to HAZMAT situations, I asked our Water Quality & Industrial Surveillance team how we might respond to a disaster like this had anything like it struck the Cuyahoga River.

Scott Broski put it pretty bluntly.

"In terms of control, based on what has been released and the volume, I’m not sure what anyone can do to control a spill of this magnitude." Scott is the Superintendent of Environmental Services, and said a major challenge in this situation is an inability to strategically collect the material.

GREEN: St. Patrick's Day and 5 stories of green with Cuyahoga River connections

Our mighty Cuyahoga has never received the full Chicago River green-dye treatment, but it has some green tales to tell.

Here are five interesting stories you may not have heard.

5. The Cuyahoga River was dyed green in 2008. Mysteriously.

In January of that year, the City of Akron discovered a green dye in the Cuyahoga River near their wastewater treatment plant. The plant said they were not responsible for the dye, and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency investigated the discovery. No information was available about the official source of the dye.

NEWS: Fish kill investigation benefits from Sewer District's first-responders

Senior Investigator Seth Hothem tests water quality near the fish-kill scene April 25.

The Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District is pleased that the grand jury returned indictments against Renato and Teresina Montorsi for allegedly dumping toxic cyanide into a storm sewer, deliberately poisoning tens of thousands of fish last April. This intentional act is a clear infringement of the Clean Water Act.

In Thursday’s story, Grafton couple accused of causing fish kill, the good work performed by local, state and federal agencies was highlighted. Unfortunately, the Sewer District’s exceptional performance was overlooked at the press conference: our employees played a key role in this investigation.

Our employees were among the first investigators on the scene. During the critical first hours, our field investigators collected water samples from the East Branch of the Rocky River and its tributaries. Our laboratory staff quickly and expertly analyzed samples collected by our staff and Cleveland Metroparks rangers.

UPDATE: Sewer District assists in fish-kill investigation along Rocky River

"We’ll continue to work on this until we exhaust all our leads. We are working with other entities as well. Cleveland Metroparks, Ohio EPA, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, everyone is working together to try and figure this one out." Sewer District Director of Watershed Programs Frank Greenland spoke to several media outlets this afternoon regarding the ongoing investigation of the possible fish kill along a stretch of Rocky River in the Cleveland Metroparks. The District is collecting water samples to aid in the investigation.

Here are stories that ran this evening on WKYC, WEWS and FOX8. UPDATE 2012 5/1: The Strongville Post featured a story in today's edition.