The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1900-01-11
GREAT DRAINAGE CANAL.
HOW The FLOW is IsEGUL ,TED

HOW The FLOW is IsEGUI. .TED,
Turning the Course of Chicaeo,s
Sewerage and Connecting Lake
Michigan With the Mississippi
River.
Jan. 2, 1900, at 8 o'clock a. M. the
water was turned into tho great drain
age canal at Chicago and began to dow
towards Lockport, whore it will fall
Into the Desplaines river ana thence
through the Illinois and Mississippi
rivers to the Gulf OF Mexico. What ia
termed by the canal engineers tho col.
lateral channel has for some time been
completed from the Chicago river in
the southwestern; part of the city, to
within fifteen feet of the main channel
OF tho canal. This l5.foot wall of
earth with two sluico gates behind it
has been all that has KEEP: the Chica-
60 river and Lake Michigan out OF the
canal.
At 10 o'clock Monday night a steam
| dredge began to cut away this wall Of
| earth and few minutes before 8
o'clock q. m. the water In the cOllat-
eral channel was against the sluice
gates and only few inches of timber
remained to be removed before Chica-
60 was to realize her dream of years
and see the great canal in actual opera
tlOn. When the water began to back
up against the sluice gates the tim bers
were knocked away and tho first water
from the Chicago river ran into the
canal. The engineers OF the sanitary
district have cut . channel to Gerry
300, 600 cubic feet of water minute,
but the water was now allowed to
How into the canal at the rate of only
1000 cubic feet q minute. The effect
OF turning 300,O 900 cubic feet of water a
minute into the empty canal would be
like. the bursting OF reservoir and
would tear away every bridge over the
canal and wreck tho controlling works
at Lockport. Therefore the water will
be turned In gradually. Probably q
week will elapse before the canal is
full Of water aud Is carrying away the
sewage that now flows into the Chi
cagO river.
An occasion that might have been
made one OF the most memorable in
the eventful history Of Chicago was
suffered to pass by unimproved, be-
cause the trustees of the sanitary dis.
trict were intent only on their one
Egreat, aim-the- opening OF the canal.
AsidG from the trustees and the engi-
neeIs OF the board, there were less
than a dozen spectators present. Pro-
baby no public work has ever been
undertaken by any other State or NUM-
cipality which, from it's inception, was
designed to do so much for the navig
able AID commercial interests of the
country as the Chicago canal. AS an
engineering triumph the great interest
in the Chicago canal lies in the fact
that Il disposes Of the sewage Of the
city In manner contrary to The laws
OF mature and contrary to the laws of
gravity. We're the city of Chicago
situated upon the Illinois river, or were
the entire area OF the city even sit
uated in the natural watershed of tho
DesDlaines river, there would be no
Significance in the plans forever to
turn the sewage of the city down the
valley of the Desplaines and Illinois
rivers, but the uniqueness of the canal
Plan Ia that 1t restores Typographical
conditions existing in prehistoric times
-Whon tho overflow waters, ii, indeed,
not all waters Of the great lake regions,
flowed down the Mississippi valley by
making a cut through the glacial drift
and rock between Chicago and Lock-
port Of an average depth Of about 35
feet In order to once more restore the
gravity flow from Lake Michigan to
the Desplaines and Illinois valley.
Tha POPULAR belief that the waters
OF the canaly having been on turned
DOM the valley the flow must be un-
I CHASING .&nd beyOndy human ,conJroi, is
erroneous, for the flow >ot this great
volume Of 300, 900 cubic feet per. minute
car. be stopped almost as easily as the
simple turning ef:a4aucet in the spi-
got OF q barrel. The controlling works
h i.,xy hr
sluice gates OF metal, with the neces.
sary bulkheads aud one bear-trap dam
The sluice gates have vertical flow
of 20 feet and an opening of 81 feet.
The bear-trap dam has an opening of
100 feet and an oscillation of II feet
vertically. This dam Is essentially
two great metal leaves, hinged to-
gether and working between masonry
bulkheads. This structure is operated
by admitting water through properly
constructed conduits, controlled by
| valves beneath the leaves just de-
scribed. To raise the crest OF the dam
water Is admitted from the upstream
side and the discharge shut of until
the desired height Is obtained and
then the valves are adjusted so that
the volume of water beneath the leaves
|. shall be constant To lower the crest
off until the desired height Is reached
when the valves are again arranged 80
as to maintain u constant volume Of
water.
The first work in this great enter
prise was begun on September 3, 1892,
and seven years have been consumed
in the entire work, involving an outlay
OF 1873, ,000,0 900.
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