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Meagan O'Leary Age: 20 The Illinois Center for Broadcasting Chicago, Illinois United States

Videos

Oct. 12, 2011 The New Opportunity for the Cal-Sag Channel's Future In southern Cook County, from the Little Calumet River in Blue Island all the way to the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal in Lemont, there is a 16-mile, man-made navigation channel called the Calumet-Saganashkee. Its initial purpose was to reverse the flow of the Calumet Rivers so the sewage water did not travel into Lake Michigan. As development along the canal grew, the waterway itself became a hideout for human waste and it was dubbed unsafe to recreate on. Nine decades after its completion the residential area around the Cal-Sag has grown and the waterway is considered a Secondary Contact Waterway. That term basically means that residents can boat and fish on it. All along the Cal-Sag there are Several Elevated Pool Aeration stations, areas where rain water is filtered and oxidized by diverting it over several waterfalls before it flows back into the channel, with spots that allow people the opportunity to get close enough to the water to fish. Usually when I see people fishing I think that the water should be alright to swim in but here that's not the case. There are signs that warn people not to swim. Among the few SEPA stations, there are some boat ramps and in the near future, a walking trail with more water accessible areas. Back in May of this year, USEPA sent a letter to the IEPA Interim Director stating that Illinois's water quality standards need updating. At the present time, the Illinois Pollution Control Board (IPCB) is revising the rules of the Water Recreation Use Designations. The IPCB needs to revise these standards to follow the Clean Water Act. They're being altered since there are several waterways where recreational activities are already happening and the IPCB needs to protect them. Each waterway in Illinois will be put under one of four categories: Primary Contact, Incidental Contact, Non-Incidental Contact, and No-Recreation Waterways. Before a waterway is deemed any of these categories, the water quality standards need to be remade within a certain time frame that the IPCB determines. After this process is complete, the Cal-Sag will be considered a Primary Contact Waterway. That will then allow residents and their pets the opportunity to swim and use the recreational activities associated with it. I will eventually be able to take my own dog here to cool him off in the summer time without worrying about all the debris that's in it. I will finally be able to relax and enjoy the water.

About Meagan Background:I live in South Chicago. Interests: "I enjoy recording home-videos, reading, writing, taking care of my family." Making Waves: "What drew me to the Youth Water Website was the opportunity to write and produce a small video to bring some local water issues to people's minds." ©Artistic Circles 2011 . All Rights Reserved.