For the first time in more than 30 years, the Chicago Area Waterway System and the Lower Des Plaines River are poised to become much more than a conveyance of sewage and commercial navigation, but a source of recreation and pride for the city. The Illinois EPA is proposing water quality improvements to allow for the river’s “highest attainable use,” as required by the Clean Water Act. Lea Radick explores the benefits and drawbacks of disinfecting sewage effluent before it flows into the Chicago River.
Take a trip on the Chicago River with Lea Radick to see the varied uses of the waterway system, as you consider the Illinois EPA's proposal to disinfect the river. Hear the purr of running the river, the clatter of an active city, and the absolute calm of being on the river, as you pass by downtown Chicago, Ping Tom Memorial Park and Bubbly Creek, where on June 20, volunteers pulled a 4-1/2 foot alligator, the first ever found in the river.