The North Shore Channel is a 7.7 mile long canal built between 1907 and 1910 to increase the flow of North Branch of the Chicago River so that it would empty into the South Branch and the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. Its water is generally taken from Lake Michigan to flow into the canal at Wilmette Harbor. Its carrying of excess run-off in high water events has been largely taken over by the Chicago Deep Tunnel, but there are still occasional intentional discharges back into the lake, as flood prevention in times of very heavy rains, causing episodic concern regarding effects on lake water quality.
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In this Dossier
- ⭐ Core Definition: North Shore Channel
- North Shore Channel in the context of Chicago Area Waterway System
North Shore Channel in the context of Chicago Area Waterway System
The Chicago Area Waterway System (CAWS) is a complex of natural and artificial waterways extending through much of the Chicago metropolitan area, covering approximately 87 miles altogether. It straddles the Chicago Portage and is the sole navigable inland link between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River and makes up the northern end of the Illinois Waterway.
The CAWS includes various branches of the Chicago and Calumet Rivers, as well as other channels such as the North Shore Channel, Cal-Sag Channel, and Chicago Sanitary & Ship Canal. The CAWS ends near the Lockport Navigational Pool, the highest elevated of the eight pools of the Illinois Waterway. There are three major locks within the CAWS, operated by the Army Corps of Engineers: the Chicago Harbor Lock, the Lockport Lock & Dam, and the T.J. O'Brien Lock and Dam.
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