Althouse: "At Wolf Point, the normally dark, muddy color of the north and south branches of the river was starkly met by a vibrant teal more reminiscent of the green hue pumped in..."

November 6, 2017

"At Wolf Point, the normally dark, muddy color of the north and south branches of the river was starkly met by a vibrant teal more reminiscent of the green hue pumped in..."

"... for the city’s annual St. Patrick’s Day river dyeing, or the waters of Canada’s Lake Louise."

Chicago Sun Times.

20 comments:

rhhardin said...: The Hudson, or perhaps a tributary (not sure of the naming), north of Albany NY was perpetually a bright green, I noticed on a student pilot cross-country flight, in what must have been 57 or 58.

That was back before Americans decided to pay more for appliances and have cleaner water in return.

The profits for pollution go to consumers, not companies.; 11/6/17, 6:45 AM
Phil 314 said...: The Chicago water and sewer system gets a detailed discussion in the book I'm now reading "The Republic, for which it stands", (part of the Oxford history of America)

The Chicago River is a beautiful feature of downtown Chicago and yet it is essentially an open sewer (that thankfully doesn't smell.); 11/6/17, 6:53 AM
MadisonMan said...: Is anyone surprised that Chicago is falling apart?; 11/6/17, 6:56 AM
Big Mike said...: Pruitt should order an investigation. That’s assuming he can trust the EPA’s scientists to do an honest investigation and not just call up Tom Perez for their marching orders. After eight years of Lisa Jackson and Gina McCarthy serving under Barack Obamavthere is ample room for doubt on this point.; 11/6/17, 7:21 AM
SDaly said...: Crap. I'm in the middle of planning a trip to Lake Louise this Spring, and now the prices are gonna go up.; 11/6/17, 7:45 AM
Hagar said...: So, Chicago still has combined sewers.
The journalist should have asked about the City's mandatory program to eliminate that problem and its state of compliance with the planned schedule of completion.; 11/6/17, 8:02 AM
cf said...: I have a pet theory: Rahm Emanuel does just enough Mayoral functions to pose as a busy man, but in fact is using the office as a front, so he can keep running deep pocket ops for Those Who Deign to Lead Us.

( like the intro to the old tv show "get smart", I smile to imagine he has a secret door in his office that takes him down into a vast money-manipulating complex deep under the streets and river)

You think this aggressive, ingenious, political money mover deals with the color of a city's river? Phhh.; 11/6/17, 8:08 AM
Hagar said...: It's like Flint: corrupt and incompetent City government.; 11/6/17, 9:16 AM
Rick.T. said...: Fun fact. It's some union - too lazy to look up right now - that is responsible for dyeing the river. It's a nontoxic orange powdered vegeyable dye that turns tree in the prescence of moisture. The people spreading the dye ingest a bit due to the wind and pee green for a couple of days. Eirinn go Brach!; 11/6/17, 10:09 AM
Rick.T. said...: Green not tree.; 11/6/17, 10:10 AM
Freeman Hunt said...: Sewage turns the water bright green? I'd not have guessed that.; 11/6/17, 10:13 AM
stever said...: I went to Lake Louise on my honeymoon. Although it was mid May, I never saw any water.; 11/6/17, 10:42 AM
Curious George said...: "MadisonMan said...
Is anyone surprised that Chicago is falling apart?"

What about this story leads you to the conclusion that Chicago is "falling apart."; 11/6/17, 11:04 AM
Hagar said...: Liquid waste typically is gray in color. The green may be due to the City adding chemicals to kill the health hazards, odors, and other nuisances resulting from this large overflow from the combined sewer system.; 11/6/17, 11:28 AM
Hagar said...: and being corrupt and generally incompetent, over-did it, and thus a symptom that "Chicago is falling apart."; 11/6/17, 11:35 AM
Curious George said...: "Hagar said...
and being corrupt and generally incompetent, over-did it, and thus a symptom that "Chicago is falling apart."

So MadisonMan mind read the shit you just made up?; 11/6/17, 11:45 AM
Levi Starks said...: Lake Louise cannot be described. Even a photograph cannot fully capture its beauty.; 11/6/17, 12:31 PM
Hagar said...: The article says half an inch of rain fell on Saturday. That is not a large amount in Chicago, so something does not match up here.; 11/6/17, 12:41 PM
Darrell said...: Chicago has one of the most advanced sewage treatment systems in the country--and an engineering marvel, Deep Tunnel, to handle extraordinary rainwater events. That doesn't preclude some brother-in-law from leaving a valve open, though.; 11/6/17, 12:58 PM
rehajm said...: The Hudson, or perhaps a tributary (not sure of the naming), north of Albany NY was perpetually a bright green,

I used to live near there. The Mohawk and Hudson Rivers could be filled with duckweed certain times of year. Duckweed is a peculiar shade of bright green...

GE also dumped PCBs in both systems. I don't know for certain if they glow green.; 11/6/17, 1:46 PM