North Shore Channel

North Shore Channel
The North Shore Channel near the Bahá'í House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois
Specifications
Length	7.7 miles (12.4 km)
Navigation authority	Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago
History
Date completed	1910
Geography
Start point	Lake Michigan in Wilmette, Illinois
End point	North Branch Chicago River in Chicago, Illinois
Branch of	North Branch Chicago River

The North Shore Channel is a drainage canal built between 1907 and 1910 to flush the sewage-filled North Branch of the Chicago River down the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. ^[1] The sewage carrying duty has been largely taken over by the Chicago Deep Tunnel, but there are still occasional discharges due to heavy rains. ^[2]

Geography

The North Shore Channel, a component of the Chicago Area Waterway System (CAWS), flows from Lake Michigan, near the Bahá'í House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois, to the North Branch of the Chicago River in Chicago. ^[3]

The channel begins at the Wilmette Pumping Station, where sluice gates are generally used to provide for a consistent water level in the channel by controlling water diversion from Lake Michigan, although the gates are opened during severe storm weather conditions to allow the channel to backflow into the lake in order to prevent downstream flooding. ^[1] From the pumping station, the channel flows southwest, and then south, through or near Wilmette, Evanston, Skokie, and Lincolnwood, and into Chicago. The south end of the channel flows into the North Branch at approximately 5100 north and 3000 west in the Chicago street-address numbering system. A concrete low head dam, 82 feet (25 m) in width and 8 feet (2.4 m) in height, was constructed at the confluence of the channel and river in 1910, creating Chicago's only waterfall within the city limits. ^{[4] [5]} Because the water surface of the North Shore Channel would be 4 feet (1.2 m) lower than that of the river's, the dam was built to prevent the river from eroding its banks upstream of the confluence due to the difference in the water surface elevations. ^[5]

However, the dam exacerbated existing problems of stagnant water flows and ponding on the North Branch for decades, despite multiple modifications to the dam and dredging of the river. ^[5] The Tunnel and Reservoir Plan (TARP) would eventually solve those issues along the North Branch, and starting in July 2018, the Army Corps of Engineers removed the dam, replacing it with a series of riffle pools, which allow fish to swim upstream. ^{[6] [7] [8]}

Surrounded by parks and steep, wooded banks, and the 18-hole Canal Shores Golf Course in parts of Wilmette and Evanston, the canal provides a corridor for local wildlife. ^[5]

In 1999, the system of which the canal is a part was named a Civil Engineering Monument of the Millennium (as part of the Chicago wastewater system) by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). ^[9]

General recreation

Since the water quality improvement, fishing has become possible in the Channel. ^[10] Bass and crappie are abundant, especially at the confluence of the Channel and the North Branch of the Chicago River, where the waterfall aerates the water. ^[11] Canoeing and kayaking are allowed, with several put-in points along the length. ^[12]

In recent years the Channel has also become a popular rowing venue. It is home to the Chicago Rowing Foundation and the Loyola Academy and New Trier High School teams. The Channel is a great place for rowing due to its high banks that act as a shelter from the wind. The northern part of the Channel has hosted the University of Wisconsin and Syracuse University men's rowing teams for dual meets in 2016 and 2019.

In addition to water navigation, both walking and biking paths follow along nearly the entire length of the Channel. ^[13] The Evanston-Wilmette Community Golf Course ("Canal Shores") plays along a stretch of the Channel of about 1 mile (1.6 km), and two par-3 holes play across it. ^[14]

North Shore Channel Trail

North Shore Channel Trail map

The North Shore Channel Trail is a multi-use trail that starts at Lincoln Square near West Lawrence Avenue and North Francisco Avenue and stops in Evanston at Green Bay Road. Proposals are being considered to complete the final mile and a half of the trail, which would connect the path to Gillson Park at the Wilmette lakefront. ^[15]

Several recent improvements were completed in 2019, including the Lincoln Village Pedestrian Bicycle Bridge and just past where the channel merges with the north branch of the Chicago River, the 312 RiverRun and its Riverview Bridge. ^{[16] [17]} Other attractions along the trail include the Skokie Northshore Sculpture Park, which boasts over 60 large sculptures along the channel, ^[18] the Evanston Ecology Center, and the Ladd Arboretum. As of July 2023, construction has begun on a skate park at Twiggs Park along the trail. ^{[19] [20]}

See also

• Cycling in Chicago

References

1. Hill, Libby (2000). The Chicago River, A Natural and Unnatural History. Chicago: Lake Claremont Press. pp.  139–151. ISBN   1-893121-02-X.
2. "CSO - Operational and Maintenance Plan Summary". Village of Willmette. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
3. "Where is the Chicago River?", Friends of the Chicago River. Retrieved August 18, 2014. "The Upper North Branch then continues to flow south through Niles into the city of Chicago, where it combines with the North Shore Channel at River Park and forms the North Branch of the Chicago River. The North Shore Channel starts in Wilmette and flows through Skokie, Evanston, and Lincolnwood to Chicago."
4. "Chicago River Water Trails", Openland. Retrieved August 23, 2014.
5. Hill, Libby (2019). The Chicago River : a natural and unnatural history (Revised ed.). Carbondale, IL. p. 130. ISBN   9780809337071 . Retrieved 2 April 2023.
6. Wetli, Patty (March 31, 2017). "Chicago Is Losing Its Only Waterfall, and Nature Lovers Say Good Riddance". DNAinfo. Archived from the original on October 10, 2017. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
7. Wetli, Patty (July 31, 2018). "The End of Chicago's Only 'Waterfall' Marks a New Beginning for Life on the River". Block Club Chicago. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
8. Bookwalter, Genevieve (August 2, 2018). "With Removal of Century-Old Dam Underway, Nature Lovers Can Soon Kayak from Skokie to Chicago Riverwalk". Pioneer Press. Retrieved August 9, 2018.
9. American Society of Civil Engineers. "Chicago Wastewater System" . Retrieved 15 May 2011.
10. "10 Places to Catch a Fish in Chicago". World Fishing Network. 29 November 2010.
11. "River Park". Chicago Park District. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
12. North Shore Channel put-ins. paddleaway.com
13. Raz, Katherine (2010). "Best Alternative to the Lakefront Path". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 2012-12-21.
14. Evanston Wilmette Community Golf Course. "Scorecard". Archived from the original on 23 February 2014. Retrieved 12 February 2014.
15. Reynolds, Cole (2023-01-17). "North Shore Channel bike trail brings promise, peril to 5th ward". The Daily Northwestern. Retrieved 2023-04-09.
16. Wetli, Patty (2016-09-22). "A Bike-Friendly Bridge Over North Shore Channel Trail Finally Is Happening". Archived from the original on 2019-09-05.
17. Hernandez, Alex V. (2019-07-01). "312 River Run's Massive Bridge For Pedestrians And Cyclists Won't Open Until Fall".
18. "Park History". Skokie Northshore Sculpture Park. Retrieved 2019-09-05.
19. "Evanston Skate Park | City of Evanston". www.cityofevanston.org. Retrieved 2023-04-09.
20. "Evanston Skate Park Project Gets $400,000 Grant From State Program". Evanston, IL Patch. 2022-08-09. Retrieved 2023-04-09.

42°02′28″N87°42′35″W / 42.04111°N 87.70972°W / 42.04111; -87.70972