Shoring up the Chicago shoreline, blocking sewage from seeping into Lake Michigan and your basement, curbing Asian carp, measuring Chicago air pollution and winding up wind turbines at a Kankakee hospital are among Illinois energy and water projects on track to land more than $111 million in stimulus cash next year.
The Fiscal Year 2010 Energy and Water Appropriations bill includes funding for these Chicago-area projects, according to information from U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin.
•Chicago Ship and Sanitary Canal Aquatic Nuisance Species Barrier System, Chicago. $5,000,00 to continue a system to eliminate aquatic nuisance species such as the Asian Carp and build permanent barriers.
•Chicago Shoreline, Chicago. $3,500,000 to reconstruct the crumbling Chicago Lake Michigan Shoreline.
•Des Plaines River Flood Damage Reduction Phase I, Statewide. $6,800,000 to continue work on Levee 37 and Palatine Road.
•Des Plaines River Flood Damage Reduction Study Phase II, Statewide. $500,000 for studies to determine how to reduce flooding, reduce tributary flooding, and restore degraded ecosystems within the Des Plaines River basin.
•Inter-Basin Control of Great Lakes-Mississippi River Aquatic Nuisance Species, Chicago. $300,000 to continue a study to prevent the inter-basin transfer of aquatic nuisance species, including Asian Carp.
•Lake County Wetlands Restoration Study, Lake County. $200,000 for a county-wide study of wetland preservation and restoration as a means to increase flood control. The loss of wetlands and the increase in population has the potential to exacerbate flooding issues and degrade water quality.
•McCook and Thornton Reservoirs, Chicago. $25,000,000 for the McCook Reservoir in the Chicago Underflow Plan. This project benefits the City of Chicago and 36 suburban communities by reducing untreated sewage back flow into Lake Michigan and reducing basement flooding by protecting nearly 150,000 structures.
•South Fork of the South Branch of the Chicago River (Bubbly Creek), Chicago. $100,000 for a study that will determine how to restore natural flow conditions, reduce impacts of combined sewer overflows, restore diverse native aquatic and plant species and manage public access.
•Operations and Maintenance, Statewide: The following projects were also included in the bill under U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Operations and Maintenance: Calumet Harbor and River ($3,120,000); Chicago Harbor ($3,889,000); Chicago River ($493,000); Farm Creek Reservoirs ($352,000); Kaskaskia River Navigation ($2,148,000); Lake Michigan Diversion ($683,000); Surveillance of Northern Boundary Waters ($685,000); Waukegan Harbor ($492,000).
•Loyola University, Chicago. $500,000 to expand Loyola’s efforts to measure air and water quality with sensors in the Chicago area. The project will increase the number of key sites where measurements will be taken and analyze new threats including volatile organic compounds and particulate metals in the air, and hormones, pesticides and pharmaceuticals in water.
•Riverside Medical Center, Kankakee. $500,000 in funding to support the installation, operation and demonstration of wind turbines at Riverside Medical Center. These turbines will reduce energy costs, minimize the environmental impact of the hospital, and demonstrate cutting-edge technology for using wind energy.
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