Chicago Architecture River Cruise rated number 2 on the planet

[mhays]

Yes I used hyperbole. I stand corrected on that.

You don't know what effect it has, because nobody does. The only real question is whether it's minimally harmful or more harmful.

If you think the river's general improving health is evidence, you're not getting it. This obviously isn't the only factor.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by mhays

You don't know what effect it has, because nobody does.

Yes we do, we have 50+ years of doing the experiment full-scale and not observing any negative impacts from it.

It's pretty safe to say that it's harmless.

Even the Friends of the River say it's safe, they just don't like it because they believe it gives the river a bad reputation.

Fortunately, nobody in town pays attention to their calls to end the celebration.

[goat314]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

What a stupid headline. Yes, pollution in Chicago's waterways contributes to the problem in the gulf, as does pollution from hundreds of other cities in the MASSIVE Mississippi River watershed, but agricultural fertilizer run-off is a MUCH larger piece of the problem.

The Mississippi near St. Louis is absolutely filthy. I've heard all my life that we do get the sewage from Chicagoland down here. There is even a Cubs-Cards rivalry troll that says that Budweiser is actually Chicagoan piss.



With that said, I'm not absolutely certain that the river would be anymore cleaner without Chicago's pollution. St. Louis industry dumps billions of gallons of toxic waste into the river as well. By the time you get to Memphis and New Orleans I would highly suggest against any recreational activities in the river. I still remember catching a highly mutated catfish near the Arch Grounds as a child.

[mhays]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

Yes we do, we have 50+ years of doing the experiment full-scale and not observing any negative impacts from it.

It's pretty safe to say that it's harmless.

You might want to look up "scientific method."

[Kenmore]

anyone who fishes in the city could tell you the improvements to river water quality in recent years have been enormous

[hauntedheadnc]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

And speaking of fishing, the Chicago river is now home to over 70 species of fish. It has come a LONG way from the '70s when there were less than 10 species living in the river

This is the kind of thing that absolutely delights me. I love to hear and read about nature surviving and thriving in the hearts of urban areas. For example, on more than one occasion I've seen dolphins leaping in the harbor in Charleston, once from a bench I was sitting on by the waterfront. To see life returning to and thriving in places where you'd think human activity on such a scale would have wiped it out... Well, sometimes I wonder if we won't save ourselves after all.

That being said, how's Bubbly Creek doing these days?

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by hauntedheadnc

That being said, how's Bubbly Creek doing these days?

much improved from a century ago, but it is still the most distressed section of the chicago river system. and yes, it still bubbles to this very day!

bubbly creek's two big problems are toxins in its sediment and the stagnant nature of the waterway which leads to an oxygen starved system which is not conducive to fish.

though there are fish there; i once saw a very large fish, most likely a carp or perhaps a catfish, disturb the surface of the water when i was kayaking down there years ago.

there is a plan to restore bubbly creak to a prairie stream that meanders through wetlands, but i think it has stalled due to the costs of remediating the toxins found in the river bed.

despite its industrial legacy, in places, bubbly creek is actually a fairly picturesque part of the river system these days. i didn't believe it until i went down there myself.

you paddle through scenes like the one below and it's pretty easy to forget that this was once one of the most horrifically disgusting places on the planet.


source: me

[Centropolis]

correct me if i'm wrong, agricultural associated runoff (illinois, but all the other states, too) seems to be the primary impact on the gulf of mexico...

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by centropolis

correct me if i'm wrong, agricultural associated runoff (illinois, but all the other states, too) seems to be the primary impact on the gulf of mexico...

BY FAR.



the headline from that article laying most of the blame at chicago's doorstep was immensely misleading.

[Centropolis]

Originally Posted by goat314

The Mississippi near St. Louis is absolutely filthy. I've heard all my life that we do get the sewage from Chicagoland down here.

Well, people swim and boat in Alton pool and above like it's a lake, including me...the water is appreciably less turbid before one or both the Missouri and Illinois dump in. The Mississippi river itself is a fine river above that point.

This is in metro st. louis:


sail st. louis



ytimg.com

[hauntedheadnc]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

much improved from a century ago, but it is still the most distressed section of the chicago river system. and yes, it still bubbles to this very day!

bubbly creek's two big problems are toxins in its sediment and the stagnant nature of the waterway which leads to an oxygen starved system which is not conducive to fish.

I feel you. The river that runs through my city used to run different colors on different days depending upon the dyeing schedule of the textile mills. Meanwhile, there's a creek that empties into the river, with the wonderful name of Nasty Branch, because that was where the city used to dump its sewage, which in turn dumped it in the river.

And now...? On any given day in the summer, the French Broad is wall to wall with kayakers and people drinking beer while floating along in inner tubes, and there are crayfish to be found in Nasty Branch.

Fun, and irrelevant, fact: In WNC you can gauge the health of any given stream by the presence of a certain type of snail that yields a lovely purple dye when you crush up their shells. If the snail is present, that waterway is, for all effects and purposes, pristine and sparking clean. Here's wishing Bubbly Creek an eventual lifetime of snails.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by hauntedheadnc

And now...? On any given day in the summer, the French Broad is wall to wall with kayakers and people drinking beer while floating along in inner tubes, and there are crayfish to be found in Nasty Branch.

you would absolutely not want to go tubing on the chicago river.

not only is it an exceptionally lazy river, typically with a very slow current, the water quality, though improving, is just not at all there yet for that kind of full contact. maybe in another handful of decades.

[hauntedheadnc]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

you would absolutely not want to go tubing on the chicago river.

not only is it an exceptionally lazy river, typically with a very slow current, the water quality, though improving, is just not at all there yet for that kind of full contact. maybe in another handful of decades.

And while we wait, just hold on to that impossible dream that one day... some day... you too, up there in Chicago, can have hordes of drunk craft beer aficionados drifting along, bumping into one another and occasionally leaning over to puke in the water.

God, it'll be beautiful...

[Baronvonellis]

Back to the topic of River tours. I've been on 1 hour river tours in Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Bruges, a night tour in Paris, and Rhine River in Germany. They were all interesting. The one in Amsterdam was very informative and gave lots of good historical information. The one in Bruges is very good too. The night tour in Paris was the most romantic as the bridges are all lit up very well at night, you can see Parisan lovers making out along the banks of the river, and see the Eiffel tower lit up spectacularly at night. It's probably better and more romantic at night. The one in Copenhagen was the least informative since they had to give the tour in 4 languages, and so they were only giving 15 minutes of information in the hour tour.
The Rhine River tour is very light on information, it's more of excuse to drink fine Germany beer and look at awesome castles. Rick Steves created his own audio guide you can download and listen to that is timed to the river cruise to hear more information.
Rick Steves also created a audio guide for the Grand Canal in Venice, as that boat is really just a floating bus, and doesn't give any information. All of Rick Steves audio tours are excellent and humorous. I used his audio tour in the Vatican and other cities in Europe, he has downloadable audio walking tours for many cities and museums in Europe.

[streetscaper]

Originally Posted by streetscaper

Other than the already-mentioned Chicago Architecture Center, does anyone have any recommendation for specific companies todo the boat tour with?

I'm going to Chicago in less than two weeks (for July 4th weekend) and excited for this and other city adventures.

Anyone wanna help me out?

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by a

Anyone wanna help me out?

I've only ever done the CAC tours, so I can't speak to the quality of the tours offered by their competitors.

But I can HIGHLY recommend the CAC tour!

[xzmattzx]

Originally Posted by streetscaper

Anyone wanna help me out?

Just make sure to get one that does both the river and the lake.

I went on a couple of them over the years, but I don't remember which companies they were with. But there are some tours that do only the river or only the lake.

[SIGSEGV]

Originally Posted by streetscaper

Anyone wanna help me out?

I haven't been on any of the other tour companies on the river, although you can buy a day pass on the water taxi and go back and forth between Michigan Ave and Chinatown as many times as you want (during Weekday rush hour, you can also go to Goose Island!) without the aid of a docent...

[bnk]

The amount of traffic on the river is amazing in the summer esp by the Riverwalk. Like way too much approaching dangerous levels with all of the tour boats, taxies, kayaks, personal boats. Plus its still a working river with barge cranes and barge traffic.

This is not by the river walk

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Here is the Riverwalk on a non busy day.

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More river walk

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[Sun Belt]

I took a night time walking tour of the Loop and part of the Chicago River in March.

It was windy. It was 24 degrees. It was awesome.

I'd come back again for a summertime tour.