The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-01-03
THE CHICAGO CANAL Open
Lake Michigan Water; New Flow
Into the Mississippi River.
The Great Drainage Project Realized
st Cost OF $4,000, the
Cut Away and the SIuice Gates
Opened - y" Public Ceremonies.


CHICAGO. Jan. AT 2 o'clock this
morning water was turned into the s32 ,000,
eco Chicago Drainage Canal. and began to
flow toward Loekport, where it viii fall
into the Desplaines River. and thence
through the Illinois and Mississippi rivers
TO the Gulf of Mexico What is termed by
the censl engineers the collateral channel
has been for some time completed from
the Chicago River. in the southwestern
Dart of the city. TO within fifteen feet Of
the main channel. The fifteen-foot wall
of earth. with two sluicegates behind it.
has been all that has kept the waters of
the Chicago River and Lake Michigan out
Of the canal
At 10 o'clock last night a steam-drsdgs
began to cut away this wall Of earth and
few minutes before 9 o'clock today the
water in the collateral channel was against
the slice-gates. and only a few inches of
timber remained to be removed before
Chicago was to realize her dream of years
and see the great canal in actual operation.
When the water began to back up against
the sluice- gates. the timbers were knocked
away. and the first water from the Chi
cago River ran into the canal. The en-
gineers of the sanitary district have cut a
channel to carry 800 900 cubic feet OF water
a minute. but today the water was allowed
to flow into the canal at the rate of only
so 600 cubic feet OF water minute. The
effect OF turning 100000 cubic feet of
water minute at once into the empty
canal would be like the bursting of a reser-
voir and would tear away every bridge
over the canal and wreck the controlling
works at Lockport. Therefore. the water
viii be turned in gradually. Probably
week will elapse before the canal is full
OF water carrying away the sewage that
now flows into the Chicago River
An occasion that might have been made
one OF the most memorable in the eventful
history Of Chicago was suffered to pass by
unimpIoved because the trustees Of the
sanitary district were intent only on their
great aim--the opening OF the canal Aside
from the trustees and the engineers OF
the board there were less than dozen
spectators present.
The requirement of the law under which
the Chicago Drainage Canal was built COM
PEELED the construction OF the rock sections.
SO as to lay the foundation Of ship canal
connecting the great lakes with the Mis-
sissippi River and the Gulf. The canal, IL
confined by law TO the single requirement
of disposing OF Chicago's sewage. could
have been constructed for from sI2 00G. coo
TO i+.000.oo0 so the sanitary district cali
Justly claim TO have expended at least 500
otN. .000 Tor the direction OF the great navi-
gable waterway.
While the Chicago River has been deep
81 II,
flow and capacity. the canal itself. properly
speaking. begins at the south branch of
the Chicago River at Robey Street. and
continues southward an artificial cham
mel until IL reaches the controlling works
a LociIort. distance OF twenty-eight
miles. OF entirely artificial construction.
At Lockpcrt the channel wIdcns to about
800 feet. into a basin in which the large
Jake vessels can be easily turned and
Inaneuvred- The fan from the mouth of
the Chicago River 10 the LociSDort works-
and IL IS TO be remembered that hence
forth the Chicago River will ho= Ip
stream, Is commonly undeTstood-is only
seven feel. 50 Thar the flow of water in
rapidify snd volume through the Chicago
River &c the canal Is entirely controlled by
the bear-trap dam and controlling works
situated at the Locl1port terminus the fall
south Of the controlling works being
abrupt and about forty feet in the next
four miles. II is by means of these con-
trolling works that the water was turned
down 10 the valley by the simple opening
of the great gates or valves. and IL is also
by means of the controlling works that the
waters down the valley can be as suddenly
turned OF in case emergencies might de-
msnd
Therefore the popular belief that the
waters OF the canal having been once
turned down the VALLEY, the flow must be
unceasing and beyond human control is
erroneous. The controlling works have in
volyed the construction OF seven sluice-
gates OF metal, with ihe necessary bulk
heads, and one bear-trap dam. The sluice-
gates have vertical flow of 20 feet and
an opening Of % feet. The bear-trap dam
has an opening of 100 feet and an oscilla-
lion OF u feet vertically This dam is es-
sentially two great metal leaves. hinged
together and working between masonry
bulkheads. The downstream leaf is Sc
curely hinged TO a heavy foundation. and
the upstream leaf is 40 placed as to pre-
sent the barrier TO the water. This struc-
ture is operated by admitting water through
properly constructed conduits, closed by
valves beneath the leaves Just described
To raise the crest OF the dam water is
admitted from the upstream side. and the
discharge shut off until the desired height
is obtained. and then the valves are ad-
5usted so that the volume OF water beneath
the leaves shall be constant To lower the
crest. the water beneath the leaves is
drawn on until the desired height is
reached. when the valves are again ar
ranged so as TO maintain a constant volume
of water.
The first work in this great enterprise
WIS begun shovel Day" September s.
1892. on the rock cut below Lemont. on
the liae between Cook and VIII counties;
SO that a little more than seven years
have been consumed in the entire work
involving an outlay of about $50. ."o0 600
More than 50 per cent of the work was
done during the so-called panic period. and,
owing 10 this fact. the cost Of construc-
tion was reduced about sS0c0,o0