Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal

An Illinois waterway connecting the Chicago River to the Des Plaines River. Opened in 1900, it reversed the river’s flow to carry Chicago’s wastewater away from Lake Michigan.

Chicago River reversal: The redirection of the Chicago River’s flow away from Lake Michigan and toward the Mississippi River system. The canal’s opening enabled the reversal that redirected the river’s sewage-laden water.
Chicago sewerage crisis: The nineteenth-century public-health problem caused by Chicago’s sewage entering the shallow waters of Lake Michigan. The threat to the city’s drinking water drove support for a new drainage route.
Mississippi River watershed: The drainage basin of the Mississippi River, spanning much of the central United States. The canal diverted Chicago’s water from the Great Lakes basin into this watershed.
Chicago wastewater treatment: The collection and treatment of wastewater generated by Chicago and surrounding communities. The canal carries treated effluent and stormwater from the region’s wastewater system.
Great Lakes Compact: An agreement among the Great Lakes states and provinces that regulates diversions and uses of Great Lakes water. The canal’s cross-basin water transfers intersect with regional rules governing Great Lakes water.
Chicago River: A river flowing through Chicago that historically drained into Lake Michigan and now flows toward the Mississippi River system. The canal connects to the river and redirects its flow westward.
Chicago Drainage Canal: The original name for the canal built to divert Chicago’s sewage and connect the city’s waterways to the Illinois River. The project was known by this name before and after it opened in 1900.
Great Lakes–St. Lawrence River system: The connected freshwater system that drains the Great Lakes through the St. Lawrence River to the Atlantic Ocean. The canal’s flow reversal redirected water away from the system Chicago once drained into.
Stickney Water Reclamation Plant: A major wastewater treatment facility in Stickney, Illinois, operated by the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago. Its treated water enters the canal as part of the region’s wastewater management system.
Chicago diversion: The transfer of water from the Great Lakes basin through Chicago-area waterways into the Mississippi River basin. The canal is the principal route for this long-standing interbasin diversion.

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History of ChicagoBroader topic: The project addressed sewage pollution while reshaping the city’s waterways and engineering landscape.