Chicago Area Waterway System facts for kids
The Chicago Area Waterway System (CAWS) is a network of rivers and canals. It stretches for about 87 miles through the Chicago metropolitan area. This system is super important because it's the only way boats can travel between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River. Think of it as a watery highway connecting two huge water systems!
The CAWS includes parts of the Chicago River and Calumet River. It also has special channels like the North Shore Channel, the Cal-Sag Channel, and the Chicago Sanitary & Ship Canal. The system ends near the Lockport Navigational Pool. There are three big locks in the CAWS. These locks are like water elevators for boats. The Army Corps of Engineers runs them. They are the Chicago Harbor Lock, the Lockport Lock & Dam, and the T.J. O'Brien Lock and Dam.
People started building waterways to connect the Mississippi and Great Lakes back in 1848. This was with the I&M Canal. The CAWS we see today really started to form in 1900. That's when the Chicago Sanitary & Ship Canal was built. Its main job was to change the direction of the Chicago and Calumet Rivers. Before, they flowed into Lake Michigan. This meant they carried sewage (wastewater) into the lake. The new canal made them flow away from Chicago, towards the Mississippi River. This helped keep Lake Michigan clean. Later, more parts were added. The North Shore Channel was built in 1910. It runs from Wilmette to the Chicago River. The Cal-Sag Channel was finished in 1922. It gives a direct path from the Calumet River to the Illinois Waterway.
In recent years, people have been worried about the CAWS. They are concerned it could be a path for Asian carp to get into Lake Michigan. Asian carp are an invasive species. This means they are not native to the area. They can harm the lake's ecosystem. There have been court cases about this issue. But so far, the connection between the CAWS and the Mississippi River has not been closed.
What Waterways are Part of the CAWS?
The Chicago Area Waterway System includes several important waterways:
- Cal-Sag Channel
- Calumet River
- Chicago River
- Chicago Sanitary & Ship Canal
- Grand Calumet River (part of it)
- Little Calumet River (part of it)
- North Shore Channel
