Yes, all the manufacturing factories, 2 Nuclear Power Plants along the lake front has polluted the lake. I used to swim in it when I was a kid but I don't let my own children swim in it now. Lake Erie is shallow which makes it dangerous, winds can kick up and produce 4 to 6 foot swells in seconds. It's pretty scary being 6 miles out from shore where you can't see any land and have a storm come.