The Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal (CSSC) is a canal system that connects the Chicago River to the Des Plaines River.
Part of the Chicago Area Waterway System (CAWS), the 28-mile-long canal system is a man-made connection between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins.
The CSSC, historically known as the Chicago Drainage Canal, was completed in the early 20th century to address sanitation and flooding.
The CSSC reverses the direction of the Main Stem and the South Branch of the Chicago River, which now flows out of Lake Michigan rather than into it.
The nearby Calumet-Saganashkee Channel (CSC) provides a similar function on the Calumet River a short distance to the south, joining the Chicago canal about halfway along its route to the Des Plaines.
The two routes provide the only navigation for ships between the Great Lakes Waterway and the Mississippi River system.
Credit: USACE
Electric barriers are maintained in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal to deter the inter-basin establishment of Invasive Asian carp and other fish. The barriers are part of a broad interagency invasive carp prevention effort.
The Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal and other components of the Chicago Area Waterway System pose the greatest potential risk for the transfer of aquatic nuisance species between the two waterways.