Landmark Protections for People Recreating on Chicago's Rivers

Openlands invites you to celebrate a tremendous victory with us: on August 18, the Illinois Pollution Control Board (IPCB) unanimously voted to adopt new regulations to protect the growing number of people out recreating on Chicago’s rivers. The United States EPA has already written that it will bless this landmark water regulation as soon as it receives it from the state.

What does this mean to us?

On a small scale, it means that the state now must protect people recreating in, on and along the water from bugs that can make us sick. And the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD)—the agency that will likely have to disinfect hundreds of millions of gallons of its wastewater every day—voted to do just that at its North Side and Calumet treatment plants. Its new executive director is even pushing for this to happen by 2015.

On a larger scale, this is a signal that the region wants something better for our river—the marquee of Chicago and our second waterfront. It is a mirror of a larger movement toward embracing the water as an opportunity, a recreational treasure, and a natural frontier.

There has been a lot of press—rightfully so—about how the new regulations will help people that get wet canoeing and kayaking Chicago’s rivers. It will certainly be an improvement for the teams of high school kids that row crew on the water. But it will also help the kids that escape the heat by wading along the edge of the rivers in Calumet. They are often seen up to their chests in the water—which on a sunny day is at least 70% wastewater from the MWRD treatment plants. This will help protect all of these people.  While it isn’t a silver bullet, this mass-scale disinfection is the first of many steps we can take to recognize our river as a world class recreational amenity.

What's next?

While we take the time to congratulate everyone that stood up and supported a new future for our rivers, there is still much to do. Next, the Illinois Pollution Control Board will look at when and how MWRD should disinfect at three of its treatment plants, especially at Stickney in the south side of Chicago. They are also now hearing testimony about the present and future of fish and other aquatic life on Chicago’s rivers. Their fate is still undecided. Your voices will still be critical in the coming months. For more information on the water quality standards, and how you can tell the IPCB you want a cleaner river, click here.