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The Chicago River Watershed 
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The Chicago River…
In The News
Healthy Habitat
Stormwater Management
In The News
Listen to Margaret Frisbie in an interview with Bill Moller.
Updated June 16, 2011
June 7, 2011 - Chicago Tribune
Water District Backs Cleaner River
June 7, 2011 - ABC Local
Water Reclamation District board backs Chicago River Clean-up
(Click the play arrow below to view the story)
June 2, 2011 - Chicago Tribune
State pollution board orders Chicago River cleanup
May 22, 2011 - Chicago Tribune
Ill. senators Durbin, Kirk push Chicago River cleanup
May 18, 2011 - Chicago Now
Leinenkugel Pitches in on Chicago River Clean-Up
May 12, 2011- Chicago Tribune
Feds Demand Chicago River Cleanup
“This is a great day for the Chicago River and the tens of thousands of people who use it already. USEPA’s decision to require sewage disinfection means we will have a river that can be a true natural, recreational and economic resource, and one that will be safe enough for everybody. The days where sewage from our toilets can go straight into our river are finally ending.
That is GOOD news.”
Margaret Frisbie, Friends of the Chicago River
Other news coverage on Chicago Tonight and Friends’ brochure Why Disinfect? provide insight into this critical issue.
Healthy Habitat
Did you know there are almost 70 species of fish in the Chicago River today?
Update January 31, 2012
On January 31, the Great Lakes Commission and Great Lakes & St. Lawrence Cities Initiative (GLC-GLSLCI) released “Restoring the Natural Divide”, that considers options for separating the Great Lakes and Mississippi River watersheds to stop the transfer of invasive species. The two year-long study came in response to concern over the migration of Asian carp from the Mississippi and Illinois rivers and their potential for using the Chicago River system to move in to Lake Michigan.
The study supports Friends’ position against closing the locks by offering alternatives down stream from the lakefront. Friends’ has always contended that closing off the lakefront would devalue the Chicago River, negatively impact existing river users including commercial and recreational traffic, and increase flooding millions of Chicagoan’s basements.
The only way to make something this radical realistic is to take all the other issues into account. We have to take care of shipping. We have to take care of flooding. We have to finish TARP. We must protect water quality and the people who use the river on either side of any barrier. Without that, implementing any plan becomes improbable or impossible.
The Chicago River is an economic engine that is just gearing up, as such we must continue to advocate for scenarios that protect it and its users. Friends will not comment on particular barrier scenarios, other than to argue against lock closure, but we do believe that this study creates an imperative for accelerating the timeline for completion of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District’s Tunnel and Reservoir Plan, which will great reducing regional flooding and allow more flexibility on how we can think about separating the system.
While efforts to control the transfer of invasive species upstream through the Chicago River system are tantamount, the majority of lake invaders have been introduced through Great Lakes shipping, with points of origin far from Chicago. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers continues to examine the connection between the Mississippi and the Great Lakes Watersheds with the Chicago River system in between. Their work, the “Great Lakes and Mississippi River Inter-Basin Study” addresses the lakes and rivers as an interconnected system and is seeking solutions for all invasive species.
Ongoing efforts
Friends’ supports the current efforts of the Army Corps and Illinois Department of Natural Resources to minimize the threat while long term solutions continue to be sought.
Both agencies continue to work tirelessly by
• Refining how the electric barriers work to ensure that fish cannot pass
• Fishing out the Illinois River to reduce pressure on the barriers
• Testing the efficacy of eDNA to determine exactly what its findings are telling us
• Monitoring their practices to ensure that their efforts are working
For ongoing information, the Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee keeps activities posted in real time here.
Update April 1, 2011
Friends supports the US Army Corps of Engineers’ study examining the ecological separation of the Great Lakes and Mississippi River watersheds. On March 31, 2011 Friends’ executive director, Margaret Frisbie, sent a letter urging the US Army Corps of Engineers to continue to work towards long term solutions to the Chicago Area Waterway’s aquatic invasive species problem.
Read our letter to the US Army Corps of Engineers to find out more about our position.
Stormwater Management
Construction for Deep Tunnel started in the 1970’s and is set to be finished in 2029.
Tunnel and Resevoir Plan (TARP), AKA Deep Tunnel
Deep Tunnel is a large scale engieneering project that aims to be a cure to the regions stormwater issues and is the best solution for keeping water out of the sewer system which creates Combined Sewage Overflows (CSOs). Friends has long advocated for the rapid completion of the Deep Tunnel.
A Combined Sewage Overflow (CSO) is the discharge of wastewater (aka sewage - gross!) directly into a waterway.
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