Shedd Aquarium Scientists Group Interview

During this meeting, we discussed…

Key Concerns/Challenges:

• Habitat and hydrology need to be considered as important as water quality when it comes to the overall river system health
• Safety regulations for commercial and recreational boats need to be implemented in order to avoid unsafe boating conditions
• Combined Sewer Overflow outfalls along the river

Key Priorities/Opportunities:

• Get people to connect with the rivers as they do the lake to increase investment in the overall state of the river systems
• Compare the health of fish species in the rivers to fish species in the lake
• Increase wildlife diversity and habitat conditions

Big Ideas:

• Create “stops” similar to the Riverwalk downtown that communities along the entire system can embrace
• Connect different communities along the riverfront through trails/riverwalks
• Use other metrics to test Chicago’s water quality in the rivers