1900s

1900s

__Reversing The Chicago River (1900)__ By Alice

Over 113 years ago, people built a sewer that flowed directly into Lake Michigan. Not only was this bad for the planet, but bad for us, too! 12% of Chicago's large population died from drinking water from the lake. So Chicago's leaders reversed the Chicago River, and that led the polution away from Lake Michigan.

Reversing the river was bad for St. Louis because our polution was coming their way. They fought and argued, but these Chicagoans didn't care. They reversed the Chicago River without delay.

Why Did Chicago Reverse the River By: Carlton

Chicago started out as a small town and grew to a LARGE CITY. It had many factories that polluted the lake which we drink from. Many people got sick. So Chicago decided to build a canal which made the pollution go the other way. Chicago was saved.