Today’s post is a challenge because there are multiple storylines converging. As I’m writing, I’m thinking about you, my readers, and wondering which storylines you will find interesting because I find many things interesting that not everyone does! I’ve been hearing about the looming danger of Asian carp since getting involved in Great Lakes environmental advocacy, but I know this topic may not be as familiar to many of you. 

What are Asian carp?

The term Asian carp generally refers to four invasive species of carp: bighead, silver, black and grass. These species were brought to the southern United States from Southeast Asia in the 1970s to help control algae and weeds in aquaculture ponds and wastewater treatment facilities. However, both flooding and accidental releases of the fish allowed them to get into local waterways. They made their way quickly into the Mississippi River system and have now spread across much of the US, including the Illinois River watershed. They are now wildly overpopulated in many waterways.

In November, 2021, the Illinois Department of Natural resources announced that it was proposing a new name for Asian carp: Copi. There were two reasons for the proposed name change. One was that in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, anti-Asian sentiment had turned more vitriolic and there was a desire to shift from unfairly associating another challenging issue with Asian countries and peoples. The other reason was a marketing ploy to encourage people and the food industry to purchase more Asian carp for consumption, essentially as an invasive species control mechanism. I will note that both the name Copi and the fish appearing on menus have been slow to gain traction.  

Why are they a problem?

The primary threat from Asian carp is competition with native species for food. They eat native species out of existence given that some carp can grow to up to four feet in length and and 100 pounds. Given their size, which I know sounds insane, a secondary threat is boat and person safety in and on waterways when they are present. Notably silver carp are so physical that they come flying out of the water and can impact boat stability, safety and navigation. Watch the first 30 seconds of this video clip as illustration. 

How can we keep them out of the Great Lakes?

The Great Lakes Fishery Commission, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and Fisheries and Oceans Canada all take the position that the only way to preserve the Great Lakes fishery is to prevent the introduction of Asian carp into the lakes. The focal point to prevent arrival are the waterways in Illinois leading into Lake Michigan. 

It’s now that I link us to my last post on the waterways around Chicago. Asian carp have been seen as close as nine miles out from Lake Michigan in the Chicago River and their DNA has been traced to even closer but they have not yet been documented in the lake. The most specific focal point for keeping the carp out is the Brandon Road Lock and Dam on the Des Plaines River. While there are currently mechanisms in place to prevent the carp from getting past this juncture, they are a semi-coordinated effort. There have been plans for a more extensive project in the state and federal assessment and pipeline phase for several decades. 

What’s the recent good news?

In June, the Brandon Road Lock and Dam project’s funding plan was confirmed and approved to the tune of $1B and construction will start soon. The states of Illinois and Michigan will share 10% of this cost. This is a very low state cost-share and is critically enabling the project to move forward. The federal government, specifically the US Army Corps of Engineers, will cover 90% of the costs. 

The project will include air bubble curtains, electric barriers and acoustic deterrents. I heard a description from an expert at the Alliance for the Great Lakes and it literally sounds like a crazy elementary age child’s brainstorm – First we smother the fish with bubbles! Then we zap them with an electric shock! Then we deafen them with horrific noises!

But a science fair project this is not. What’s at stake is the $7B Great Lakes fishing industry as well as the tourism and recreation industry of the region. Let’s keep our fingers crossed and recognize with appreciation this enormous effort from our federal government to protect Great Lakes waters and people. 

If this storyline interests you, I highly recommend this article from Detroit Free Press about the danger of Asian carp and the Brandon Road Lock and Dam project.

Over Labor Day weekend I accomplished another item on my Great Lakes summer intentions list. We were in Chicago for a family event but had a gap in the schedule Saturday afternoon and I made it to a Chicago area beach. We were in the northern suburbs so the closest beach was Tower Road Park and Beach in Winnetka. It was a beauty for sure. Colorful umbrellas and shade coverings dotted the wide swath of sand while boats puttered out into Lake Michigan from a nearby marina. There was a generous swimming area and playground on the beach.

Chicago’s size and expanse always impresses me whenever I visit. So much highway. So many surface roads. So many diners. There are just a heck of a lot of people living in and around the city (2.6 million in the city; 8.9 million in the metro area). All these people require a lot of built infrastructure to live, including clean water and sanitation systems. 

How Chicago managed to develop both of these for its growing population at the turn of the 20th century is one of the greatest engineering feats of its time. The flow of the Chicago River was fully reversed to prevent water polluted by industry and sewage from moving into Lake Michigan, which has always been Chicago’s drinking water source. I’m going to share the story this week because it’s incredible – but it also sets up my next post, which will be about one of the most important recent developments for the Great Lakes.

Prior to white settlers in the Chicago area, the Chicago River was a slow, somewhat unremarkable river that flowed through a soggy wetland. Two branches merged about a mile from Lake Michigan before flowing into the lake. In a twist of geographical fate, there is a ridge running north and south through what is now the Chicago metro area that created a subtle but crucial divide. Waters on the east side flowed east into the Chicago River and out into the lake and on the west side down into the Des Plaines River and eventually out to the Mississippi River and down into the Gulf of Mexico.

Starting in 1840 and extending through the Civil War, Chicago grew rapidly. Growing in parallel was Chicago’s enormous meat-packing industry. This industry contributed substantially to the pollution flowing into the river and out into Lake Michigan. By the 1880s, the situation was horrific. The river’s stench, drinking water contamination, and epidemics were constantly present. In 1886 a Citizen’s Association formed the Commission on Drainage and Water Supply. Eventually the Commission made several proposals to improve the situation, one of which was approved by the Illinois Legislature in 1889.

The proposal centered on building the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. The canal would pull large amounts of water from Lake Michigan and, using a series of locks and dams, would shift the direction of the Chicago River, sending sewage out towards the Mississippi watershed while also creating a wider and deeper shipping channel that the Commission hoped might appease those downstream who were likely to be unhappy with the project.

The engineering required to build the canal throughout the 1890s is  beyond the scope of this post but it would not be too much to say that it was transformational. Equipment, tools and techniques developed in the process were replicated the world over, including in the construction of the Panama Canal. But the manpower required was also astronomical, and without question exploitative of recent immigrants and Blacks who were recruited or lured from the South to do the dangerous work. 

On January 2, 1900, a new century had dawned and with it came the initial intentional breach of a small dam holding water between the Chicago River and the new canal. It took two weeks for the canal to fill. On January 17, 1900, the controlling gates at Lockport, IL were opened, the Bear Trap Dam was lowered, and the river changed its course. The project had taken eight years from first shovel and had removed over 42 million cubic yards of soil and rock.

Technology can enable amazing things, like preserving drinking water for millions. But man-made solutions are not without environmental impacts, including sometimes wildly unexpected ones. Stay tuned for the next post to explore one directly related to the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal and the health of all of the Great Lakes.

Much of the content of today’s post came from a terrifically informative six-page write-up on the Chicago River’s history from the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of the City of Chicago.