American Society of Civil Engineers names the Chicago Wastewater System a Civil Engineering Monument of the Millenium

MEDIA CONTACT:
Gayle Fields, Manager, Communications
American Society of Civil Engineers
Email: gfields@asce.org
Tel: 202-326-5143
Fax: 202-289-6797

Marty Rosness
Z&H Engineering, Inc.
Tel: 602-997-7536
Fax: 602-997-7992
mrosness@zhengineering.com

Mark Hoeffer
JWA Consulting Engineers, Inc.
Tel: 775-588-7178
Fax: 775-588-1726
rmhoeffer@aol.com

CHICAGO, September 19, 2001 -- In a ceremony at the Chicago Wastewater System today, the American Society of Civil Engineers named the Chicago Wastewater System a Civil Engineering Monument of the Millennium.

The Chicago Wastewater System is the sixth of ten projects to receive this distinction from ASCE, and the first project in the Midwest to be honored. The Monument of the Millennium award comes as a result of ASCE's participation in the National Academy of Engineering's Greatest Engineering Achievements project, in which more than 30 engineering societies canvassed their member to determine the Top 20 engineering achievements of the past century. Wastewater disposal is one of ten civil engineering achievements nominated for consideration by ASCE. ASCE selected one project or monument to represent each of the ten civil engineering achievements.

"The new millennium reminds us of the tremendous impact civil engineering has had on the development of our society and the everyday lives of individuals around the world. It is fitting that the Chicago Wastewater System would be chosen by ASCE for this special honor. The system is a remarkable example of engineering innovation and perseverance that led to the building of world icons as the Panama Canal," said ASCE President Robert W. Bein, P.E.

Established in 1999, the Monument of the Millennium award honors the civil engineering profession's contribution to the quality of life and well being of people and communities worldwide. The award recognizes the creative spirit and ingenuity of the profession and serves as a symbol of engineering at its finest moments in history. Civil engineering projects selected as millennium monuments inspire generations of engineers to continually 'get it done' in the face of those who would say 'it can't be built.'

"America?s civil engineers have selected the Chicago Wastewater System as one of the greatest engineering marvels of an entire century," said (MWRDC official) "This award honors the visionaries who designed and built this landmark icon as well as those entrusted with maintaining this American treasure."

In the two decades after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, poor natural drainage coupled with booming city growth led to residents drinking filthy water produced by human and industrial (stockyard and slaughterhouse) wastes that was discharged via the city?s sewers into Lake Michigan. As the city grew, lake water intakes were placed further offshore to reach clean water, but in1885 a huge rainstorm flushed the river and its sewage far into the lake, beyond the water intakes, leading to disease epidemics that killed tens of thousands of the city?s 750,000 residents.

In 1889, the State of Illinois created the Chicago Sanitary District (changed in 1989 to the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago or MWRDGC) to restore and maintain water-related public health by protecting Lake Michigan ? the area?s main drinking water supply ? from sewage contamination. District engineers solved the problem by reversing the flow of the city?s polluted rivers, representing the first time a river was redirected to flow backwards.

This is the first of a series of awards given to the Chicago Wastewater System through the years.

From 1892-1922, the city built a system of three canals totaling 70.5 miles in length to start the process of creating a safe drinking water and sewage system. A crew of 8,500 workers, using mules, shovels, picks, steam-powered machines and innovative excavation techniques, cut through a low point on the continental divide to build the first of these canals, the Sanitary and Ship Canal, thereby separating the east flowing Chicago River and the Great Lakes basin from the southwest flowing Des Plaines River and the Mississippi River basin. This canal coupled with the North Shore Channel, completed in 1910, and the CalSag Channel, completed in 1922, diverted the polluted Chicago rivers to flow to the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico and away from the Lake Michigan drinking water supply.

Today, the wastewater system consists of seven water reclamation plants, including the Stickney Water Reclamation Plant, which is one of the world?s largest. The system also has 554 miles of intercepting sewers, more than 100 miles of combined sewer overflow control deep tunnels, 23 pumping stations, and 31 flood control reservoirs. It also boasts 82 miles of navigable urban waterways that serve as the mid-continental water connection between the Atlantic Ocean in Canada and the Gulf of Mexico. The wastewater system services 91% of the area of Cook County, Illinois, which includes 5.1 million people and 4.5 million commercial entities in the City of Chicago and 124 suburban communities.

In December 1999, ASCE designated its first millennium monument, the Panama Canal in the water transportation category. Earlier this Spring, ASCE designated the Kansai International Airport in Osaka, Japan for the airport design and development achievement; the California State Water project for the water supply and distribution achievement; and the Golden Gate Bridge representing the long-span bridge category of achievement. The Empire State Building was designated in the skyscraper category July 2001.

On September 27, the Hoover Dam will be honored as a millennium monument in ceremonies at the bridge. The other civil engineering achievement categories include dams, the interstate highway system, rail transportation, sanitary landfills/solid waste disposal, and water transportation (canals and ports).

While each monument exemplifies the use of engineering ingenuity to overcome major design and construction challenges, this is not the sole criterion. The Chicago Wastewater System was selected because, like the great civil engineering works of previous centuries, it uplifts the human spirit and creates pride in the communities it serves; uses state-of-the-art design and construction techniques; and makes a significant contribution to regional and world economies. Most importantly, all of these monuments created a positive change in the way people lived and how they conducted business.

The reversal of the Chicago River system was the largest municipal earth-moving project ever completed, and has been widely referred to as the eighth wonder of the world. In 1955, ASCE named it and the MWRDGC one of the Seven Engineering Wonders of American Engineering.

Founded in 1852, ASCE represents more than 123,000 civil engineers worldwide and is the United States' oldest national engineering society.