FORMED THE LAND ON WHICH WE LIVE

BUILDING A CITY AND CHANGING THE LAND REQUIRED NEW DRAINAGE

HOW THE RIVER WAS REVERSED

Pattern of rivers parallel to the lake shoreline shows the

influence of the moraines laid down as the lake receded. This

continues south and east around the southern end of Lake

Michigan.

The density of streams is more pronounced where the land

surface has more variation. The vast Chicago lake plain is lacking a network of streams, indicating

the predominance of broad floodplains, wetlands and

marshes.

This ecology has been lost due to land development.

Eleven million people now live in the watershed of the

four states around the southern end of Lake

Michigan, impacting the watershed as well as the

lake. Half of this population lives in northeast Illinois and almost all of the stormwater

and treated wastewater from northeast Illinois is diverted away from Lake Michigan, lessening the

adverse impact on the lake.

South Branch of the Chicago River

PROBLEM AND SOLUTIONDes Plaines River floods passing through Chicago

to Lake MichiganSewers discharging to the river and lake polluting

the water supplyDisgusting and smelly nuisance river

Citizens’ AssociationCity Commission on Drainage and Water SupplyThe Act of 1889

SANITARY DISTRICT OF CHICAGOReferendum on November 5, 1889

Shall the Sanitary District of Chicago be created to build a canal to reverse the flow in the Chicago River to protect Lake Michigan

Vote: Yes, 70,958; No, 242

Steam Shovel Excavating the Canal

Dynamite Blast to Break Up the Bedrock

Chicago Area Waterway System Protects Lake Michigan

Copyright 2012

Hardcover

Softcover

EBook

386 pages

16 maps

180 photographs

Self publishedXlibris.com

AND NOW LAKE DANCE!

Polluted River Flowing to Lake Michigan

Blasting the Bedrock to Dig the Canal

Steam Shovel Digging the Canal