Echo

Photo Friday: Re-reversing the Chicago River

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(Photos by Lloyd DeGrane, Alliance for the Great Lakes)

The course of the Chicago River, reversed over a century ago by the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal to prevent the flow of waste water into Lake Michigan, was re-reversed April 18 to alleviate flooding in the city in the wake of serious storm conditions, according to an Associated Press report. These photos show dark stormwater and untreated waste water flowing into the lighter waters of Lake Michigan, according to the Chicagoist, a popular news blog for the Chicago area. Echo has previously reported on the increasing frequency of urban flooding problems in Chicago and the Midwest.

Echo

Urban flooding a regional dilemma

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Residents of Great Lakes cities are increasingly victims of urban flooding.

Getting a handle on the problem is difficult as property owners often don’t want to talk about sewage spilling into their homes.

Chicago named most walkable city in the Great Lakes region

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Chicago is the most walkable of Great Lakes cities with a population of at least 75,000. This is according to a ranking system by the website Walk Score. The top 10 Great Lakes contenders among cities of that size, with their national rank in parentheses, are:

Chicago, Ill. (11)

Minneapolis, Minn. (24)

Cicero, Ill.

Echo

Sprawl, climate change, carp control hinder Chicago sewer solution

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When more than two inches of rain falls in the Chicago area, the deluge flowing into storm sewers mixes with the wastewater from homes and businesses.   Often there is more water than the metropolitan area’s treatment plants can handle, so the excess is discharged untreated into the Chicago River and its connected waterways. Such Combined Sewer Overflows — CSOs – are common in Chicago and many other U.S. cities where storm water and municipal wastewater are funneled into the same aging combined sewer pipes. Milwaukee and other cities discharge CSOs into Lake Michigan. The discharges include high levels of bacteria, parasites, viruses, toxic metals including copper and cadmium, nutrient pollutants including phosphorus, and suspended solids.

Echo

What Chicagoans can do to conserve water

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What can you do? Advocates recommend Chicagoans take these actions to help ensure the future of regional water:

Disconnect downspouts and install a rain barrel to use to capture water for watering your lawn or washing your car. Buy a $40 rain barrel at mwrd.org or to the Department of Environment Web site at cityofchicago.org for more information. Go to Metersave.org and to set up a time for them to install a water meter in your home. Don’t use automatic sprinklers.

Echo

Bursting Chicago’s water bubble

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City officials, urban planners and environmental experts warn of a disconnect between Chicagoans’ perception of water abundance and reality.

They fear future scarcity unless there are radical changes in the way water is collected, distributed and consumed.

Carp bomb: The Marina City carp cobs

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The Marina City towers on the Chicago River are sometimes called “corn cobs” for their vegetal resemblances. I’m sure “carp cobs” will be an easy adjustment once this Asian carp invasion hits full swing. This carp bomb is brought to you by Katie Coleman and the Environmental Law and Policy Center. Remember, we want to show off YOUR Asian carp photobombs. Read all about how it works here.