The agency says the changes are necessary because an increasing
number of people are coming into direct contact with the water
through kayaking, canoeing, boating, jet and water skiing and
other forms of recreation. EPA is directing the Illinois
Pollution Control Board to adopt new or revised water quality
standards for the North and South Branches of the Chicago River,
the North Shore Channel, the Cal-Sag Channel and the Little
Calumet River. Since 2007, EPA has repeatedly recommended that
Illinois upgrade water quality standards for the Chicago
waterway system. If the board does not act, the Clean Water Act
authorizes EPA to do so. To attain the new water quality
standards, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of
Greater Chicago (MWRDGC) will likely be required to disinfect
sewage discharged into the waterway system from its North Side
and Calumet treatment plants. MWRDGC ceased disinfection at
these facilities in the mid-1980s. For information on the
determination and to view a map showing the affec