Why does the Chicago River flow backwards?
There’s hardly anyone is the world who doesn’t know about USA’s windy city. Yes, we are talking about Chicago, one of the world’s most distinguished cities, especially for its trade and commerce practices. But there’s another reason why Chicago is famous – it is located on the banks of Chicago River, that connects the city to USA’s Great Lakes, the Mississippi River and finally all the way to the Gulf of Mexico. No wonder the river is highly esteemed for all Chicagoans.
But there’s another reason that makes it special. The Chicago River flows backwards. But that flow isn’t natural at all. It was made to run that way back in the late 19th century. In fact, it is one of the major reasons why the city of Chicago still exists!
Polluted water in Chicago River
As it turns out, in the late 19th century, Chicago was one of the fastest growing cities in the world. This meant that it also had a rising population. But guess what? Chicago soon found itself in jeopardy. Why? Because all of its garbage was thrown into the Chicago River and left untreated. This in turn flowed into the Lake Michigan, the city’s only source of free and clean drinking water, thus polluting it.
With the turn of the century, the last dam that was holding back the Chicago River also had to be broke open as it could no longer hold the dirty water full of trash. Meanwhile, the people of Chicago, especially the sanitary workers and their immediate families started getting really sick. Water-borne diseases such as cholera, typhoid, and jaundice were spreading all across the city. The situation became such that the naturally blue colour of the river turned shabby green in colour, something that even caught the eyes of tourists.
The flow is reversed
Amidst such a crisis, a civil engineer named Sylvester Chesbrough who largely contributed to the development of the city suggested a mitigation. He said that Chicago and its people can only be saved if the direction of the flow of the river is reversed. This meant that instead of running into the Lake Michigan, it would flow into Mississippi River. Of course it would cost millions of dollars and take many years to completely change it, but that was the only way out. While some people were in favour of Chesbrough, most thought the idea to be ridiculous. Why? Because it would mean to save a single city, the entire state of Illinois that was supported by the Mississippi River would be sacrificed, especially the ones living downstream along the Illinois River Valley.
Meanwhile, a case went to the Supreme Court against the proposed reversal, but it was turned down. The judge’s argument was simple: Mississippi River was already foul and was polluted by other cities besides Chicago. In contrast, Lake Michigan was the only source of fresh water, not only for Chicagoans but also for other nearby municipalities.
That being said, it was still no reason to harm the Mississippi River and several communities dependent on it just to save a city and its people. This is when engineer Chesbrough again stepped in. He suggested that a canal be built in such a way that it will act as a link between the Chicago River and Mississippi river. Now, the canal will be designed to get deeper as it moves towards Mississippi allowing only water to flow, while the sewage will flow into a sanitary system. What a marvellous solution it was!
So, from 1900 to 1911, the 28 mile long Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal was built, solving problems for everyone and thus saving Chicago’s future once and for all. Since 1929, more other water treatment plants and infrastructure projects have also been built nearby in order to treat Chicago’s wastewater, even before it gets released into the river system and sent downstream.
In 1955, this 11 year long project was deemed as one of the seven wonders of engineering by the American Society of Civil Engineers, and rightly so! Further, in 1999, the canal was renamed as Chicago River System and tagged as “USA’s Civil Engineering Monument of the Millennium.”