Chicago River water quality to be improved

Water in the Chicago River in Illinois could soon be much cleaner after a new order was put forward that would ban the dumping of hazardous materials in the water.

According to the Chicago Tribune, a 58-page order was handed down this week from the Illinois Pollution Control Board, demanding that certain parts of the river be made safe enough for activities which see people come into contact with the water.

Activities covered include swimming, wading, boating and canoeing.

Senior attorney at the Chicago branch of the Natural Resources Defense Council Ann Alexander said: "Few things are better known to medical science than the fact that germs in the water can make people sick. This is clearly a day when the tide turned."

Commissioner Frank Avila, however, warned that making sewage safer is only a "minor" part of fixing the water quality problems facing the state of Illinois.

Earlier this month, the New York Times noted that Chicago's wastewater treatment firms are being put under pressure to prevent untreated sewage flowing into the river.

Posted by Joseph Hutton