"Plans To Block Carp Will Re-Reverse Chicago River"

"Keeping the invasive Asian carp out of the Great Lakes will involve re-reversing the flow of the Chicago River -- an engineering marvel completed a century ago through a complex network of rivers, canals, and locks, a new study said on Tuesday."



"The study proposed three options to separate the Great Lakes from the Mississippi River basin near Chicago and keep Asian carp and other invaders out, but all three would require re-reversing the flow of Chicago river which now carries Chicago's treated waste water away from its Lake Michigan drinking water.

'Physically separating the Great Lakes and Mississippi River watersheds is the best long-term solution for preventing the movement of Asian carp and other aquatic invasive species, and our report demonstrates that it can be done,' said Tim Eder, executive director of the Great Lakes Commission, sponsor of the study with several other interest groups.

The prolific Asian carp have populated the Mississippi River and many of its tributaries and now threaten the $7 billion fishery in the lakes, which contain one-fifth of the world's fresh surface water and supply 35 million people with drinking water."

Andrew Stern reports for Reuters February 1, 2012.

SEE ALSO:


"Barrier Urged To Protect Great Lakes From Invasive Fish" (CTVNews)

"Report Says Great Lakes Divide Can Be Rebuilt" (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel)

Source: Reuters, 02/01/2012