Keep locks open; find other ways to stop carp
When an issue becomes emotionally and politically charged, shortsighted actions are trumpeted as actual solutions.
That's what is taking place in the fight to prevent Asian carp from entering Lake Michigan. Some have proposed closing the O'Brien and Chicago Locks, which link the lake to the Illinois Waterway and Mississippi River.
That is not an option. The closure would severely damage the Chicago area economy. And, there are better ways to keep carp out of Lake Michigan.
Locks are essential to commerce. The Illinois Waterway is a lifeline for Northeastern Illinois and Northern Indiana. The equivalent of well over a half-million truckloads of cargo enter and leave the Chicago region annually by barge.
Chicago's waterways are the only viable route for delivering many vital materials, including:
• Road salt, indispensable for safe winter travel
• Construction materials for roads, bridges, schools, libraries and hospitals
• Additives for our fuels
• Fuels for our power plants
• Aviation fuel for our airports
• Recyclable metals
Cutting off the waterways to commerce would spark an exodus of jobs from the Chicago area. Businesses that depend on shipping via waterways will limit their investments and those in the region might move or close. Tourism will suffer because the locks' closure would block recreational and commercial vessels that use Chicago's waterways. Many millions of dollars are at stake. If you limit access to sites such as Chicago's Navy Pier - the largest tourist attraction in the Midwest - it would be a financial hit for the stores along Michigan Avenue, and the convention, restaurant and hotel industry. It would result in reduced sales tax revenue.
We all take the Asian carp threat seriously. Here are some highlights from our formal recommendations to the Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee:
• Adjust the oxygen levels in a 15-mile section of the Sanitary and Ship Canal and the Cal Sag Channel upstream from the Lockport Lock to kill carp and other invasive species.
• Install a remedial oxygenation program to enhance water quality south of the Chicago Area Waterways and protect the Illinois Waterways and the Mississippi River Basin ecosystem.
• Expand as planned the fish barrier system. This system appears to be working. No live Asian carp or Asian carp carcass has been found above the fish barrier.
• Provide incentives for and support commercial harvesting of Asian carp from Peoria to Lockport and in the southern end of the Des Plaines River.
• Study the efficacy of eDNA testing. Far too much credence has been attributed to this new technology.
Policymakers must preserve the essential link between the Illinois Waterway and Lake Michigan. Closing the locks would be a symbolic move. In contrast, our recommendations would better protect Lake Michigan by moving the Asian carp battle 20 miles downstream.
• Batavia resident Doug Whitley is president and CEO of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce. Jim Farrell of Chicago is executive director, Infrastructure Council for the Illinois Chamber of Commerce.