CASKA along with other area paddling and rowing groups have actively intervened in the Illinois Pollution
Control Board's rulemaking proceeding that will set water quality standards for the Chicago River system. A key part of the proposed rules will require the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District to disinfect the sewage it discharges into the River. Discharges from the MWRD make up roughly
75 percent of the water in the River.
CASKA and the other groups have filed a lengthy joint statement of support and objections with the IPCB. Many paddlers have filed individual statements with the IPCB, including CASKA board members Tim Philosophus and Emily and Pierre Kornak, and well-known local paddlers such as Mike Agostinelli, Sigrid Pilgrim, and Tom Lindblade. (You too can submit a public comment. Sample letter here.)
Gary Mechanic, the President of the Illinois Paddling Council, Randy Hetfield, the President of the Chicago Whitewater Association, and myself, representing CASKA, testified before the IPCB at a recent hearing. (See Gary Mechanic's report.) Many other paddlers and rowers testified as well.
Lea Radick's recent extended article on the IPCB's Chicago River rulemaking raises disturbing questions about the MWRD and its commitment to improving the Chicago River system so that it becomes a safe place to paddle and some day even swim.
Sewage disinfection is standard practice in major urban areas throughout the country. As the MWRD acknowledges, the sewage effluent it discharges in the River without disinfection contains a wide variety of potentially harmful bacteria, ranging from E-Coli to Giarda.
Yet, the MWRD is resisting the disinfection requirement. Its position as reported by Radick appears to consist of two inconsistent positions. First, the MWRD argues that because MWRD sewage plant effluent is the primary source of water for Chicago River and the physical structure of the waterway is not conducive to water recreation (e.g., breakwalls and steep banks) the River should not be considered
for intensive recreational use.
Second, Radick reports that even though the MWRD acknowledges that the primary source of river water is MWRD effluent the MWRD's General Superintendent argues that there is "no science" that disinfecting the sewage will make any difference to public health. The MWRD is urging that the IPCB's rulemaking be further delayed so the MWRD can do a study that will determine if there is any connection between contact with nondisinfected Chicago River water and various illnesses. In essence, the MWRD wants those of us who recreate on the River to serve as guinea pigs for a year or more as the MWRD looks to buttress its position that no disinfection of its sewage effluent should be mandated.
As to the MWRD's first argument, CASKA and its allies have pointed out that the Chicago River system offers paddlers some of the best water in the area for paddling. The River is warmer, more protected and has less high-speed boat traffic than Lake Michigan. For rowers, the Chicago River offers a flatwater environment that they cannot find on Lake Michigan. The popularity of launch sites such as Clark Park for private and commercial users hints at the recreational potential of the Chicago River system.
The MWRD's second argument, that there is "no science" that disinfection will have any benefit on the Chicago River system and its users, seems suspect. Surely, the 30 or so major urban sewage treatment systems that have made the substantial investment necessary to disinfect their sewage haven't done so just for the heck of it.
Before jumping to the conclusion, however, that the MWRD is using these arguments in bad faith to avoid the imposition of a disinfection requirement, I think it important that CASKA and its allies try to determine if there is indeed good science to back up the common sense notion that disinfecting sewage to rid it of potentially harmful bacteria is a good long-term investment, especially in a waterway that is
filled with such effluent.
Is there someone in the Chicago paddling community with access to scientific databases who could donate a few hours of time to a literature search for articles addressing whether disinfection of sewage will have public health and possibly other benefits for the Chicago River and this region. If that research exists, CASKA and its allies will be happy to forward such to the MWRD and the IPCB. Please contact the undersigned if you could pitch in.
Tom Bamonte