Down Chicago’s Drain

Those evil invader fish are on the move again! This week the Sanitary & Ship Canal will be closed to boat traffic as the Illinois DNR begins poisoning all fish in a six-mile stretch of the canal near the electric fence above the Lockport Dam.

Recently, DNA evidence of Asian Carp was discovered upstream of the electric barricade in several Lake Michigan harbors. The voracious eating habits of these invasive fish threatens other fish and the balance of the entire Great Lakes ecosystem.

The poisoning of the Sanitary & Shipping Canal continues today, with thousands of fish popping up dead, and only one specimen of the notorious Asian Carp. Yesterday 2200 gallons of the pesticide Rotenone were dumped into the canal near the electric fence just above the Lockport Dam, to make sure none of the invasive fish swam upstream while the Army Corps of Engineers made repairs and upgrades to the electric barrier.

Photos in the Tribune

A Washington Post article details the lawsuit filed by the State of Michigan against Illinois to close off the water connection of the Chicago and Calumet Rivers to Lake Michigan.

The lawsuit also challenges Chicago's exemption from the Great Lakes Compact which allows the city to draw as much as 2 billion gallons of water from Lake Michigan, which then leaves the Great Lakes basin into the Mississippi River.

If Michigan is successful in its suit, it could possibly force not only the closure of the shipping channels and the end of barge traffic through the Cal-Sag channel, but could also force the city to re-reverse the direction of the Chicago River back toward Lake Michigan, entirely changing the water infrastructure of Chicago and nearby cities.