Chicago River

Near Montrose Harbor, past the bird sanctuary where all the twitter twitters go, there is a small pier that curls out like a question mark.

flowers by the river2 by CGAphoto

Jennifer Slosar of The Chi-Town Daily News wrote a great story today about the Ecology of the River canoe trip offered by Friends of the Chicago River.

This morning's survey of Chicago River news was fun...

As I wrote in my story today, it would be really bad if asian carp got into the Great Lakes. They're an invasive species that feeds on plankton, the tiny stuff at the very bottom of the food chain, threatening native fish populations.

They're also a threat to a non-native lake dweller: the jet-skier.

As I wrote in my story today, cleaning up the river after last Monday's monster thunderstorms was a serious task.  The Department of Streets and Sanitation pulled over 21,000 pounds of debris from the river in the three days following the storm, and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District barely recovered from massive equipment failures in their efforts that night.

Both groups had boats on the river last week, cleaning up debris at Wolf Point, where the North and South Branches of the river meet.  It's a focal point of cleanup work because debris swept into the river tends to collect at the confluence.

These videos of the boats were shot last Wednesday morning, the second day after the storm.

Workers aboard the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District's pontoon boat scoop flotsam from the Chicago River at Wolf Point.



The Department of Streets and Sanitation's new boat, DSS Two, oxegenates the water while it eats up debris.

After a ludicrous soap opera that may have filled more sports news cycles than last summer's Vick Watch, Brett is finally a Jet.

And the Bears are breathing a hefty sigh of relief.

Although there was speculation that Number Four could land in Soldier Field, Green Bay's decision to ship Brett Favre cross-conference may actually be the best result for Chicago.

Chicken wire lines the perimeter of the Michigan Avenue Fish Hotel to keep out undesireable tenants like geese.

The Michigan Avenue Fish Hotel was floated up river and moored on the south side of the Chicago River between Dearborn and State Streets.  A project of the Friends of the Chicago River, it will give fish and other aquatic wildlife homes on a stretch of the river with no natural bank or shade trees.

This is the fourth season the hotel will float on the river.  This year marks the addition of a submerged island made from coconut bedding planted with underwater flora, according to Margaret Frisbie, executive director of Friends.  Each year they have adapted the hotel with what they've learned.

Friends will be putting up a website about the hotel soon!  Stay tuned to the Chicago River Blog for more details!  For now, here's a video and some pictures of my new favorite lodging:

The fish hotel bobs in the wake of passing boats.

Tucked in the corner formed by Dearborn Street and the Riverwalk, the hotel rides waves by sliding up and down on its red moorings.


For a close up view, hop on a water taxi, or take the stairs down to the Riverwalk and grab some ribs.  Deelish!

A CTA train crosses the double-decker bridge at Lake Street last night, in the moments between the thunderstorms.

The End of the Pipe recounts the history of water in the Chicago area, from the lake to the river and beyond, by the Chicago Matters folks at WBEZ.  The story is delightful, and the characters they meet along the way are fantastic:

STARECHESKI: That’s a lot of water flowing into the pipes, which means: even a small rainstorm could totally overload the system.

ambi: beep beep beep

STARECHESKI: But there is one man. One man who stops the system from flooding.

WARNER: One man.

STARECHESKI: One man who lowers the water levels in the river to make room for the rain.

MAZZACCO: You have to understand, we have approximately 80 miles of managed, navigable waterways. And the key word there is managed.

WARNER:  And you’re the manager.

MAZZACCO: Yeah, this room. This is the waterways control room.

ambi: phone rings. Click. "Water Reclamation. Dispatcher.

Love it.