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Friday, August 19, 2011

Environment - "Fish threat spurs call to reverse Chicago River again"

A long and comprehensive story today by AP writer Tammy Webber. It begins:

CHICAGO — The city was in a predicament. By the late 1800s, the slow-moving Chicago River had become a cesspool of sewage and factory pollution oozing into Lake Michigan, the source of drinking water for the bustling metropolis.

The waterway had grown so putrid that it raised fears of a disease outbreak and concerns about hurting development. So in a first-of-its-kind feat, engineers reversed the river by digging a series of canals that not only carried the stinking mess away from the lake, but also created the only shipping route between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River.

Now a modern threat — a voracious fish that biologists are desperate to keep out of Lake Michigan — has spurred serious talk of undertaking another engineering feat almost as bold as the original: reversing the river again to restore its flow into the lake.

This part is quite interesting:
But carp are not the only threat. A corps report issued this summer identified eight other species that could enter the lakes.

What’s more, the agency concluded, the lake isn’t the only body of water in danger. The risk to the Mississippi basin is even greater because the canals offer a potential highway for about 30 species to invade the river and its tributaries from the Great Lakes.

“That was one of those ‘Aha!’ moments,” said David Wethington, who’s managing the corps study. “You hear a lot about Asian carp and the potential devastation (to the Great Lakes), but what if things go the other way?”

The idea of separating the two watersheds, which have no natural links, has gained support from powerful lawmakers, surrounding states and scientists who believe it’s the only way to avoid irreversible ecological and economic harm.

“If we don’t, a century from now, our children and grandchildren will have lakes full of invasive species ... and we will be sacrificing two of the greatest freshwater ecosystems of the United States to invasion and lost economic opportunity,” said Joel Brammeier, president of the environmental advocacy group Alliance for the Great Lakes.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on August 19, 2011 11:05 AM
Posted to Environment