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Wastewater released into Lake Michigan
Posted by Chicago Tribune: Michael Hawthorne on April 18th, 2013
Chicago Tribune: After several days of rain, an overnight deluge overwhelmed Chicago's underground labyrinth of aging sewers and giant tunnels Thursday, forcing a noxious mix of sewage and stormwater into local waterways and Lake Michigan.
The surge of murky, debris-strewn water so overloaded the system that sewage began to back up in basements and geysers of wastewater shot out of several sewer manholes - stomach-churning sights captured by smartphones and posted online.
To relieve the pressure, engineers...
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Freak storm, aging sewers and Chicago’s topography lead to flooding woes
Posted by Chicago Tribune: Michael Hawthorne on July 29th, 2011
Chicago Tribune: Chicago flooding Q&A: Freak storm, aging sewers and Chicago's topography lead to flooding woes
Chicago's Deep Tunnel was billed as an engineering marvel that would "bottle rainstorms," but one of the nation's most expensive public works projects was no match for the biggest rainstorm in the city's recorded history.
Last weekend's deluge quickly saturated aging sewers in the city and suburbs and soon overwhelmed the Deep Tunnel, a cavernous $3 billion backup system built to prevent flooding...