Re-Reversing a River to Keep Carp from the Great Lakes

Transcript

Political leaders are floating some new ideas to prevent the invasive Asian carp from migrating into the Great Lakes. While Pennsylvania and four other states have asked the courts to close the locks between the Chicago River and Lake Michigan. The Allegheny Front's Julie Grant reports that other leaders now want to reverse the flow of the River.

GRANT: The Chicago River does not naturally connect with the Mississippi River system. They were connected one hundred years ago, when the city of Chicago removed the natural barriers and reversed the flow of the Chicago River. The city wanted its waste to float away from Lake Michigan, which is a major source of drinking water.
But now Chicago Mayor Richard Daley is proposing a re-reversal of the river's flow--and a closure of the connection between the Mississippi and the Chicago Rivers.

Josh Mogerman is spokesman for the Natural Resources Defense Council in Chicago.

He says the closure could prevent carp from entering the Great Lakes basin:

MOGERMAN: A number of issues might be positively dealt with by a re-reversal of the river. But the fact of the matter is that a lot of investigation and research needs to be done.

Democratic senators from Illinois and Michigan are drafting a bill to study how much it would cost to reverse the Chicago river's flow. Meanwhile, business groups are opposed to the idea. They say it will cut off a major shipping route between the Mississippi River and the Great Lakes.

For The Allegheny Front, I'm Julie Grant.