Draining Chicago: The Early City and the North Area

by Richard Lanyon

To reverse the flow of a river wouldn't be possible today, but to Chicago near the end of the nineteenth century, it became a matter of survival. In the largest municipal earth-moving project ever at that point, an engineering marvel, and a monumental public works success, the flow of the Chicago River was turned away from Lake Michigan in 1900 to remove river sewage from the lake and prevent the spread of deadly, waterborne diseases. The time had come to re-direct the sewers that had been discharging directly to the lake in Lake View, Edgewater, Rogers Park, Evanston, and Wilmette, and the municipalities and the Sanitary District of Chicago worked together on the massive undertaking. The district improved the sluggish North Branch and constructed the North Shore Channel as an alternative outlet for sewage. But population would eventually zoom beyond expectations, and sewage and industrial waste would overwhelm the natural rivers and constructed canals. It was time to implement new treatment technology, and build a network of collecting sewers and a treatment plant. In time, even those proved insufficient as population continued to grow and spread through the suburbs. Then post-WWII growth and environmental awareness brought its own demands to the existing infrastructure. As the urban landscape was paved over, flooding became the new and growing problem. The value of floodplains wasn t known until they were gone, and now the housing on former floodplains and marshes needed to be relieved of inundation. Deep tunnels and surface reservoirs became integral to the drainage responsibilities of the district. Let retired executive director of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago Dick Lanyon take you on a heavily illustrated tour of the nitty-gritty details of water engineering and project planning for early Chicago and its North Side. Draining Chicago is the second in a four-book series. The first is Building the Canal to Save Chicago (2012), which received the 2013 Abel Wolman Award from the Chicago Metro Chapter of the American Public Works Association for the best new book on public works history. Author Richard Lanyon has had a life-long association with the waterways in and around Chicago. He retired as executive director of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago in 2010 after a 48-year career there.

Genres: History

450 pages, Paperback

Published May 16, 2016

Reviews

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's been almost ten years since I moved to the Chicago area, and I'm still trying to grasp the "natural and unnatural" history of its geography and waterways. Dick Lanyon's books - along with those by Libby Hill about the Chicago River - are essential reading for anyone who wants to understand how this landscape has been altered in the years since Europeans arrived. Mr. Lanyon, an engineer, was head of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District for many years and has an unmatched grasp of the chronology of what's been called one of the world's major engineering feats -- designed with the shifting and expanding purposes of disposing of sewage, protecting clean water, and managing stormwater. This book focuses on the northern part of the system, including the North Shore Channel that runs through Evanston to the Wilmette harbor and Lake Michigan. It is richly illustrated with archival images. Local groups are working to bring natural habitat back to areas bordering the channel - an "unnatural" creation but the most extensive green corridor remaining in this area - and this book provides context. It also inspires admiration for the engineering feats (and political skill) that keep our basements from flooding (most of the time), turn waste into compost, and provide us with drinkable water. It's a timely reminder that we can't take these basic needs for granted.

[John N. Humm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was of special interest because I grew up one block from the author into late forties and fifties in Ravenswood Manor. As ten year old we explored the river from River park south to just being constructed Horner park between Montrose and Irving park. For many years we played softball on South side of the pumping station until the district constructed a fence in that area. Many memories of the river.