Officials mark start of new fish barrier construction

July 12, 2004 – Today Rep. Judy Biggert (IL-13), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources held a groundbreaking ceremony in Romeoville, Ill. to mark the start of construction of a new electric fish barrier in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. The barrier is designed to help prevent the migration of nuisance species, such as Asian carp, between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins. Construction of the barrier will be completed in fall 2004.

The full-water column electrical barrier will deter invasive species from spreading further throughout the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins. The barrier will be located at river mile 296.25 on the Sanitary and Ship Canal, roughly between Romeoville and Lemont, Ill. The new, permanent barrier will be approximately 1,000 feet downstream of the existing demonstration barrier. The demonstration dispersal barrier has been operating since 2002. However, that barrier is a temporary demonstration project. A second permanent dispersal barrier is needed to provide continued protection against nuisance species, such as the Asian carp. Barrier II will again be an electric field barrier, but will include design improvements identified during monitoring and testing of the demonstration barrier.

"This permanent barrier, when completed, will greatly increase the level of protection for the Great Lakes," said Leslie Sgro, Illinois Department of Natural Resources deputy director. "We've learned valuable lessons from the operation of the demonstration electric barrier and continued research and monitoring on Asian carp. Incorporating what we have learned will make this barrier much more effective in preventing Asian carp from entering into the Great Lakes through the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal." Sgro also thanked Biggert for her efforts in securing $5 million in federal funding for the project.

Nuisance species disrupt the balance of inland ecosystems by competing with native species for food, living space and spawning areas. Several aquatic nuisance species, such as the round goby and zebra mussel, have already made their way in the Great Lakes and Mississippi River systems. The Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal is a man-made waterway that connects the Chicago River and the Des Plaines River, which creates a connection between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi River basin. In his remarks, Col. Gary E. Johnston, commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Chicago District stressed his agency’s commitment to combating the spread of invasive species in the Great Lakes region, saying, “The Corps, in partnership with other agencies, will continue to aggressively search for a means of not just stopping the spread of invasive species like the Asian carp but also continue to research ways reduce the impact of all invasive species on our environment.”

A contract for design and construction of the new barrier was awarded in September 2003 to Smith-Root of Vancouver, Wash.

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