Culture
The Chicago River Is Now Running in the Opposite Direction
The river will flow temporarily into Lake Michigan, where it'll dump millions of gallons of raw sewage.
Heavy rain in Chicago has maxed out storm water storage facilities and caused officials to "re-reverse" the Chicago River into Lake Michigan, in an effort to lessen flooding in the city.
The river's flow was reversed a century ago to prevent sewage from draining into the city's drinking water source. This, it turns out, is still a very real concern. The Chicago Tribune reports that this reversal will allow "millions of gallons of raw and partially treated sewage to flow into the region's source of drinking water."