Chicago River Must Be Clean Enough To Swim In, EPA Orders

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued an order on Thursday that has been long suggested and long resisted: the city of Chicago must make the river that runs through its heart -- now a dumping-ground for sewage and pollutants -- clean enough for swimming.

Almost a year ago, the EPA sent a letter to a state rulemaking panel suggesting that the water quality in the river be upgraded, and pointing out that the federal Clean Water Act requires waterways to be clean enough for "recreation in and on the water."

But city officials resisted the ruling, claiming that it would be too expensive and constituted an undue federal interference in local affairs. Mayor Richard M. Daley was one of the most vocal opponents of the notion, telling federal officials to "go swim in the Potomac."

The federal agency got a much warmer mayoral reception on Thursday, when it officially demanded that two sections of the river must have upgraded water quality standards.

"By making its waters safe and clean, we can restore the river as a center for recreation and unlock its full potential to enhance Chicagoans' quality of life," said Tarrah Cooper, a spokesperson for Rahm Emanuel's office, according to the Chicago Tribune. "The mayor-elect supports the goals for improvement outlined by the (EPA) and looks forward to seeing the plan that the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District will put forward to meet them."

In the 1980s, MWRD essentially threw up its hands at the prospect of cleaning the river. The waterways were designated "secondary contact waters" in 1972, meaning that they weren't intended for recreation; in the middle of the next decade, the city's water agency decided to stop disinfecting sewage dumped into the water because so few people were using it.

Times have changed, though, the EPA points out. "A decade of investments in walkways, boat ramps and parks has provided people with access to the water - and now we need to make sure that the water is safe," said Regional Administrator Susan Hedman in a press release.

Currently, kayaking and some other recreational activities are allowed on the river, but the EPA recommends that anyone who goes on the water cover open wounds, avoid swallowing, and wash hands thoroughly after exposure to the river before eating.

Comments

[JAT3]

04:34 AM on 05/17/2011

Just amazing to see how many trolls on here have a problem with "clean enough to swim in"!

Just typical! If it has nothing to do you personal or you can't take advantage of it then other than the sake of something to be clean because it should be is just wrong to you. You've got issues, and to keep dirty water as such only adds to the rest of your issues.

[InVinoVeritasBC]

04:09 PM on 05/16/2011

Wonderful news :)

[chevyliddle]

09:21 PM on 05/14/2011

Hey....you can walk on it....isn't that good enough?

[ejhickey]

11:26 AM on 05/14/2011

Too much money and not enough benefit. I vote NO.

[healthanalyst]

09:13 PM on 05/13/2011

Too bad this article missed the quote by one city official, if they clean up the water, children will drown in it. Yeah as opposed to having their skin flay off or ingest poop.

[cleojones]

05:37 PM on 05/13/2011

It does not look to clean and its way to green to consider swimming in goo... I'll pass on that one.. No Thank You...

[wwhitfie81]

04:25 PM on 05/16/2011

The pic was probably taken during/after St. Patrick's Day when the city turns the river green in celebration.

[Isac C]

03:09 PM on 05/13/2011

I have kayakked in the river. It is the definition of Yuck.

[healthanalyst]

09:14 PM on 05/13/2011

I'll give you a hint, that wasn't fish poop.

[JavaSavant]

02:42 PM on 05/17/2011

It was a Baby Ruth candy bar, right?

[Mao Meow2]

01:42 PM on 05/13/2011

I can't wait to go swimming in the Bubbly Creek with the fishes.

[sfdcubfan]

04:18 PM on 05/13/2011

Bubbly Creek!!!! Haven't heard that term in a while - it's now the South Fork, *snort!*

[Mao Meow2]

05:15 PM on 05/13/2011

No one wants to buy a million dollar home next to a Bubble Creek.

[musicandpoetry34]

01:34 PM on 05/13/2011

Many of us spend too much time idolizing money and material things. We need to remember to take care of each other and respect the environment we live in. It's bad enough that most of the food and water we consume daily has some form of contamination in it. We fail to realize that we are made up of water and need that more then anything else on the planet.

"You take care of the environment and it will do the same for you,as it has done for many people generations before us."

[ejhickey]

11:22 AM on 05/14/2011

chicago does not gets its drinking water from the River . it comes from the lake.

[johnqpublik]

12:09 PM on 05/13/2011

In all fairness, I'm pretty sure that picture is from St Patricks Day when they dye part of the river bright green.

It always has a murky green color to it, but it doesn't usually glow neon green.

[healthanalyst]

09:14 PM on 05/13/2011

Yeah they stir it up. Note the exposure suits.

[sfdcubfan]

11:55 AM on 05/13/2011

Oh, and it isn't RAW sewage unless there is a big rain event where the volume is too great to handle - then it's very (and I mean VERY) dilute. The Stickney Water Reclamation Plant alone handles upwards of 1B gallons of sewage every day, and treats it within the confines of its NPDES permit for waterway discharges, issued by EPA.

This is so stupid! Fish and wildlife are doing fine, which was the primary goal (that, and ridding the sludge of heavy metals). We're not hosting the olympics here - so why all this pressure to swim in the canal?

I just don't get it.

[healthanalyst]

09:20 PM on 05/13/2011

When ya gonna win the World Series Cubbie?

[sfdcubfan]

11:40 AM on 05/13/2011

People, please think about this - first off, WHO WILL PAY for the additional equipment and manpower to operate the disinfection? Secondly, what will happen during big rain events when the Deep Tunnel is full and the Water Reclamation District has to divert to either to the Sanitary and Ship Canal (which is what the "Chicago River" really is) or to Lake Michigan?

So, do we raise property taxes and burden the homeowner? Or do we raise user charge rates and hammer industry that discharges to the sewers? Do we risk industry leaving the area because they can no longer afford to pay the Maintenance and Operation costs of disinfecting discharge to the SANITARY AND SHIP CANAL? Really??? Do you think the Illinois Chamber of Commerce will allow for that?

The SANITARY AND SHIP CANAL, aka the "Chicago River" is there for a reason, and it's NOT there so people can go swimming in it! You want to take the billion gallons or so of wastewater and disinifect it, fine, but the Feds better pony up the money to pay for it because as a taxpayer, I sure as hell don't want my taxes increased either by property or by increased food costs to pay for this nonsense.

[bmcombs]

12:14 PM on 05/13/2011

Actually it is and was called the Chicago River. The Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal technically only represents the southern portions of the river that leads to the Des Plaines.

Regardless of its intentions at that time it is a widely used river today and those downstream shouldn't have to suffer from Chicago's waste. I think we should be cleaning up our own messes and making it safer for everyone. As Chicagoans we regularly complain about Wisconsin and Indiana polluting the lake - but we are being no better. We should lead by example.

[sfdcubfan]

12:16 PM on 05/13/2011

Ok, but then you best be prepared to pay for it.

[Myshkin57]

01:31 PM on 05/13/2011

One of the things Chicago needs is people to stop fleeing to the suburbs. I believe a cleaner Chicago River could be a great boon financially by providing more incentive for people to move into and stay in Chicago.

[Ronny Roger]

05:43 PM on 05/13/2011

That's the dumbest thing I've read on here today. Wtf does the river have to do with people moving to the suburbs? Btw, the only people fleeing to the boonies are the poor, ghetto and thugs and that's why crime is on the rise in the suburbs.

[westreal]

11:21 AM on 05/13/2011

In the summer some people fish their dinners from that river. Ugh.

[iridium53]

11:21 AM on 05/13/2011

But you can walk across it.

[PulSamsara]

11:13 AM on 05/13/2011

Yeah ! I have a home 3 short blocks from the North Branch. A cleaner Chicago River can only be a good thing. I'd like to do some urban kayaking.

[Isac C]

03:10 PM on 05/13/2011

I've done that in the river. It was Yuck. I hope it gets cleaner.