how they reversed the course of the chicago river

In 1887, the Illinois General Assembly decided to reverse the flow of the Chicago River

through civil engineering by taking water from Lake Michigan and discharging it into the Mississippi River watershed, partly in response to concerns created by an extreme weather event in 1885 that threatened the city's water supply.

Full Answer

What is the history behind the reversal of the Chicago River?

Here’s a look back at the history behind the reversal of the Chicago River and the legacy it’s left since. The year 2015 marks the 115th anniversary of the Chicago River’s reversal, an incredible engineering feat that turned the Eastern half of the United States into an island.

Why did Sylvester Chesbrough change the direction of the Chicago River?

In a herculean effort to save the city from the ravages of typhoid, cholera, and other waterborne illnesses, engineer Sylvester Chesbrough suggested Chicago reverse the direction of its river away from the lake and toward the Mississippi River. It would cost millions of dollars and take years of hard work.

Where can I find the article about the Chicago River?

Wikisource has the text of the 1905 New International Encyclopedia article " Chicago River ". "Chicago River" . Collier's New Encyclopedia. 1921. "Feds order cleanup of Chicago River".

How did the North Branch of the Chicago River get its name?

Early settlers named the North Branch of the Chicago River the Guarie River, or Gary's River, after a trader who may have settled the west bank of the river a short distance north of Wolf Point, at what is now Fulton Street.

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Did engineers reverse the flow of the Chicago River?

As Chicago grew into a major metropolis, its river became an open sewer that fed directly into the city's water supply. It took a crafty engineer named Ellis Chesbrough to come up with a startling plan: reverse the flow of the river to the Mississippi, toward the city's longtime rival, St. Louis.

When was the river reversed?

After a huge rainfall in 1885 carried sewage to Lake Michigan, Chicagoans panicked that another such storm could cause widespread disease; this fear of disease helped spur the decision to reverse the river.

How much did it cost to reverse the Chicago River?

As of 1919, the Sanitary District had settled merely 123 of the 272 claims filed, for a total of just $370,000 out of the $2.4 million in claims. Meanwhile, there was still work to be done in Chicago.

How does a river reverse?

Between the extremely strong winds and the massive waves of water pushed by those winds, rivers at regular or low flow are forced backwards until either the normal river-flow or the elevation of the land stop the inflow.

How do they make the Chicago River green?

They use a proprietary dye to turn the Chicago River green in three boats, two with the secret sauce and a chaser vessel to mix it up. The dye is essentially food coloring concocted by the plumbers years ago to help trace leaks in buildings.

What river flows backwards in the US?

But why is Chicago where it is? It all has to do with an ancient Indian canoe portage—and the only river in America that flows backwards. To navigate, press the arrow keys.

Does sewage go into Chicago River?

What is this? Whenever Chicago gets a lot of rain or there's a significant snowmelt, the Chicagoland water management agencies must dump excess wastewater into the lake and river in order to prevent flooding.

How deep is the Chicago River in the loop?

At its deepest point, the Chicago River is 21 feet deep. It runs 156 miles from start to finish, with three main branches — North, Main, and South — along the way. The river is 800 feet at its widest and ultimately helps connect the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River Basin, which leads to the Gulf of Mexico.

Why is Chicago water so blue?

The Chicago river has a distinctive color (and I don't mean St. Patrick's Day green) that is the result of the river's clay bottom, lake water, and algae: a lovely blue-green, best seen on warm weather days. (The lake water has only been part of the river's composition since the river was reversed in 1900.)

Which way does the Chicago River flow?

The Chicago River runs west from Lake Michigan to the Des Plaines River where it eventually empties into the Gulf of Mexico, but it was not always the case. Before 1900, the Chicago River flowed east through the city and emptied out into Lake Michigan.

Did Katrina make the Mississippi River flow backwards?

Since 2005, the Mississippi has actually reversed flow twice. The first time was during Hurricane Katrina, when the flow was reversed and it was an astonishing 4 meters (13 ft) higher than usual.

What is the only river that flows north?

It was common wisdom in those parts (indeed, if memory serves, even stated in the student newspaper), that – except for the Nile – the Kishwaukee River is the only river in the world that flows north.

Why did Chicago build a canal?

In order to achieve a permanent reversal, the city began constructing a new canal to join the Chicago River with the Des Plaines River, which would flow into the Illinois River and eventually join the Mississippi. This idea would also benefit the city by providing a continuous transportation link from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico.

What was the Chicago School of Earth Moving?

The project required new innovative techniques, establishing what became known as the “Chicago school of earth moving,” also used in the 1914 construction of the Panama Canal. By 1900, the first phase of the canal opened, with the river permanently reversed and the waste problem solved.

What happened in Chicago in 1885?

A persistent urban myth states that a particularly disastrous storm in 1885 washed waste from the sewage system into the drinking water inlets, causing an epidemic that killed approximately 12 percent of Chicagoans at the time. While no such singular disaster was officially recorded, the Sanitary District of Chicago was formed four years later ...

How long did it take to build the Chicago canal?

Beginning in 1892, the main channel (the first phase) of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal took eight years to complete, and nearly 40 million cubic yards of earth and rock were removed all along the 28-mile (45-kilometer) stretch.

What is Chicago's main water source?

Unsurprisingly, given its location, Chicago’s main water supply has always been Lake Michigan. However, in the second half of the 19th century, as the city enjoyed an industrial boom, the river was frequently mistreated.

What did Missouri object to?

Missouri objected, fearing that all of Chicago’s pollution would inevitably flow into the Miss issippi – the source of St Louis’s drinking water. In 1906, the state of Missouri sued Illinois, but the US Supreme Court ruled in favor of Illinois, stating that there was no evidence that the water quality in the Mississippi River had been affected.

What happened before the Chicago River was reversed?

Before the river was reversed, Chicago was in the midst of a great period of growth. As the city grew, more water was needed; this water was brought in from further out in the Lake where the Chicago River emptied into it, ...

What year did the Chicago River reverse?

The year 2015 marks the 115th anniversary of the Chicago River’s reversal, an incredible engineering feat that turned the Eastern half of the United States into an island.

What happened to Lake Michigan in 1885?

After a huge rainfall in 1885 carried sewage to Lake Michigan, Chicagoans panicked that another such storm could cause widespread disease; this fear of disease helped spur the decision to reverse the river.

What is the Sanitary District of Chicago?

Today, the Sanitary District (which has been renamed the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago) continues to uphold its mission of protecting the quality of Chicago’s water supply source while managing water as a crucial resource for its service area.

Why did Chicago pump water into the Illinois and Michigan Canal?

In 1871, during a period of particularly low water, the city pumped water from the Chicago River into the Illinois and Michigan Canal to maintain its level , which led Chicago’s sewage to float away from Lake Michigan.

How much does it cost to restore the Great Lakes?

Now, preventing the influx of invasive water species costs the Great Lakes Region $2 billion every year. As a result, the federal government has proposed an $18 billion project to recreate a separation between the waterways.

What was the Chicago School of Earth Moving?

The creative techniques and machines used to reverse the river became known as the “Chicago School of Earth Moving,” and the methods used were instrumental in future projects and the construction of the Panama Canal.

Solving a Problem

The Chicago River extends 156 miles. It used to flow east through the city and into Lake Michigan. That pathway took raw sewage and other pollutants away from a growing population. Unfortunately that also caused a dilemma: Chicago got all of its drinking water from the lake.

Overcoming Topography

Engineering marvel aside, there’s another extremely interesting aspect of the local area. A low ridge runs parallel to Lake Michigan about a dozen miles west of Chicago’s lakeshore. It’s the remnants of an ancient beach. This topographic structure dates back to the end of the last ice age of 12,000 years ago.

The Divide

Take a look at the Google Street View image. Can you discern the slight rise? Amazingly, that is all that separates the Great Lakes from the Mississippi system.

What was the impact of the Chicago River on the city?

By the time Europeans arrived, the Chicago River flowed sluggishly into Lake Michigan from Chicago 's flat plain. As Chicago grew, this allowed sewage and other pollution into the clean-water source for the city, contributing to several public health problems, like typhoid fever.

Where did the Chicago River converge?

Course. When it followed its natural course, the North and South Branches of the Chicago River converged at Wolf Point to form the main stem, which jogged southward from the present course of the river to avoid a baymouth bar, entering Lake Michigan at about the level of present-day Madison Street.

What happened to the Chicago tunnel in 1992?

On April 13, 1992, a flood occurred when a pile driven into the riverbed caused stress fractures in the wall of a long-abandoned tunnel of the Chicago Tunnel Company near the Kinzie Street railroad bridge. Most of the 60-mile (97 km) network of underground freight railway, which encompasses much of downtown, was eventually flooded, along with the lower levels of buildings it once serviced and attached underground shops and pedestrian ways.

What was the name of the treaty that gave the United States the right to land in the Chicago area?

This was followed by the 1816 Treaty of St. Louis and Treaty of Chicago, which ceded additional land in the Chicago area.

How much water is removed from the Great Lakes?

The city of Chicago is allowed to remove 3,200 cubic feet per second (91 m 3 /s) of water from the Great Lakes system; about half of this, 1 billion US gallons per day (44 m 3 /s), is sent down the Chicago River, while the rest is used for drinking water.

What is the symbol of the Chicago River?

The river is represented on the Municipal Flag of Chicago by two horizontal blue stripes. Its three branches serve as the inspiration for the Municipal Device, a three-branched, Y-shaped symbol that is found on many buildings and other structures throughout Chicago.

Why is the Chicago Portage important?

Though not especially long, the river is notable because it is one of the reasons for Chicago's geographic importance: the related Chicago Portage is a link between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River Basin, and ultimately the Gulf of Mexico .