The Evolution of Water (Ch 15)

Chicago established it's first public water board in 1851. The main source of water came from Lake Michigan. Originally it's goal was to design a water system that started in areas that had threats of fire and or where disease was prominent. What stated off as being a commission concerned with public healt and safety, took a turn in 1864. At this time, the board refused to make pipes available to areas that could not pay the water fees.

Some of the middle class did not have the money for these improvements to their homes, so they disregarded the luxury, while luxury homes had the water connections. Depending on where one lived in relation to the center of the city, the more likely one was to have access to piping for water.

As time passed, the outer sections of Chicago and those on the fringes turned to local government or small town officials to help supply water to the area. The Department of Water in Chicago was so overrun with the ever expanding city that it was hard to reach all the citizens in the outer limits. One of the tasks they had to face was incorporating or converting already standing pipe systems into one that connected properly and efficiently to the main water supply lines. In addition, the commission also had to find ways to provide access to the water in places where systems had yet to be established. By 1990, the Water Department was able to supply 90 communities in addition to the main heart of Chicago with water.

To this day, the main source of water still comes from Lake Michigan, as it is still the most abundant source of water in the immediate area. In efforts to keep the water in the Lake as clean as possible, the Sanitary District combined their forces with the water department in 1900. The Sanitary District re-diverted the water of the Chicago River away from Lake Michigan by building a Sanitary and Ship canal. The channel links the Southern section of the Chicago River to the Des Plaines River through a series of locks. The sewage from Chicago travels through this system to dump the sewage into the Illinois River, instead of Chicago's primary source for water, Lake Michigan.

A nice trivia fact is that Chicago is home to the second largest water tower in the world. The Chicago Water Tower is 154 feet tall, built in 1869. The tower is one of the few remaining buildings that survived the Great Chicago Fire. To this day, it is seen as a symbol of the city itself, as well as a symbol of the great recovery that Chicago went through after the fire.