Invasive Species and the Chicago Area Waterway System

Evidence suggests that two species of invasive carp — silver and bighead — are poised to invade the Great Lakes basin through the Chicago Area Waterway System (CAWS). A federally led Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee (ACRCC) is managing the implementation of short and long-term actions to combat their spread into the Great Lakes basin. An electric dispersal barrier system is the only structural mechanism currently in place to prevent their migration through the CAWS. Extensive monitoring and fish removal efforts, led by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and its federal partners, are important – and so far – successful strategies to reduce the risk of population spread.

In 2012, the Great Lakes Commission and Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative completed a $2 million investigation that developed options for separating the Great Lakes from the Mississippi River basin in the CAWS as a potential long-term solution to the threat of AIS transfer. It also evaluated the costs, impacts, and improvements needed to maintain or enhance beneficial uses of the waterways. As part of the effort, an Advisory Committee, now known as the CAWS Aquatic Invasive Species Stakeholder Group, was established to secure engagement from stakeholders and public agencies.

The CAWS-AIS continued to meet to review key technical issues and provide input to federal agencies working on the Great Lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin Study (GLMRIS) and related efforts. The GLMRIS report presented several structural and non-structural alternatives to prevent the transfer of AIS through the CAWS but did not recommend a preferred solution. Following GLMRIS, the AIS Group worked to reach consensus on a set of recommendations, which took the form of three letters, to advance progress on this issue. In particular, the committee is closely tracking a feasibility study on establishing a single point to control one-way, upstream AIS transfer (i.e., Mississippi River basin into the Great Lakes basin) near the Brandon Road Lock and Dam in Joliet, Illinois.

The CAWS Aquatic Invasive Species Stakeholder Group is the only forum that brings together a diverse spectrum of stakeholders in a structured process to consider and evaluate continued steps toward a feasible plan to protect the Great Lakes from AIS while maintaining the diverse and important functions of the CAWS.