There’s
one thing that anybody who’s native to Chicago knows for sure – our namesake
river ain’t blue in color.
The natural muddy green of Chicago River. Photos by Gregory Tejeda |
BUT
EVERYBODY WHO’S ever spent time here knows the Chicago River, which the lake
flows into so as to avoid having our sewage and waste wind up in our drinking
water supply, knows our river water is different.
It
has taken on a green hue. In fact, it has taken on different shades of green,
and not just because of St. Patrick’s Day.
For
on that March day, city officials go out of their way to add dyes to the river
water (or at least the portion of the river that separates Downtown from the
Near North Side) so that it becomes a bright Kelly green.
As
opposed to the sickly, dingy green with a touch of brown to it that is the
usual color of our namesake river.
Still some industry in downtown portions of Chicago River |
IT’S ACTUALLY ONE of the local gags, the quality of our river. So tainted with sludge that it might almost be possible to walk across the water, even if you don’t happen to be Jesus Christ.
Or
that one accidental tumble off a downtown bridge into the water and the biggest
threat may not be that you’d drown, but that you’d become poisoned just by coming
into contact with the water.
By comparison, salt piles along Chicago's 'other' river -- the Calumet |
Despite
all of these noxious comments (about as tainted as the river itself), I have to
say I always considered the Chicago River – particularly the part of it that
goes through downtown from Lake Michigan to the split between the south and
north branches – to be a significant part of our city’s personality.
SO
WHAT SHOULD we think about the fact our city’s river is now taking on distinct
shades? Is it a split personality? A physical manifestation of Chicago’s
character?
For
what it’s worth, WLS-TV on Monday reported that since Friday and through the
weekend, the river has taken on distinct shades of green. The south branch
being the usual muddy green color that we usually associate with the river
while the north branch has a brighter shade almost like that fake green trotted
out every St. Patrick’s Day.
Is
this Mother Nature’s way of saying we ought to celebrate St. Patty’s Day every
day in Chicago?
The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District and the Chicago Department of Water
Management both told the television station that this multi-shade of green is
actually natural, and not something we need to concern ourselves with. Not yet,
anyway.
Is the muddy green color appropriate as river passes Trump tower? |
RECENT
STORMS AND seasonal vegetation changes allegedly are responsible for the
varying hues. Although further tests are supposedly still being taken to see if
there’s going to be any lasting effect to Chicago River water.
Personally,
I find this quirky – almost something to laugh about. Considering that
Chicagoans of any sense know better than to drink directly from the river, and
that we know it is still decades far in the future that one-time Mayor Richard
J. Daley’s decades-old dream of people being able to fish in the Chicago River
will become reality.
So
as for our river, we’ll have to adapt to multi-shades of green, and let’s hope
it doesn’t turn fiery red.
The
Cleveland Indians baseball team may be closer to a World Series appearance than
our Chicago White Sox, but we’re more than willing to let Cleveland and its
Cuyahoga River (which caught fire due to the waste in the water back in 1969) be unique.
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