Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago
Other Partners
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency safeguards environmental quality, consistent with the social and economic needs of the State, so as to protect health, welfare, property, and the quality of life.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
The Chicago District is responsible for water resources development in the Chicago metropolitan area, upper Illinois River watershed, Lake Michigan watershed in Wisconsin and the upper Wabash River watershed In Indiana – an area of about 31,500 square miles.
The Chicago District delivers vital engineering services through flood and coastal storm risk management, navigation, aquatic ecosystem restoration, regulatory, emergency management, recreation and interagency support services.
Great Lakes Commission
The eight U.S. Great Lake states and two Canadian provinces are represented on the nonpartisan Great Lakes Commission by a delegation of government-appointed commissioners. The Great Lakes Commission recommends policies and practices to balance the use, development, and conservation of the water resources of the Great Lakes and brings the region together to work on issues that no single community, state, province, or nation can tackle alone.
Recent News
Black carp bounty program expands to cover Mississippi River basin waters
In an effort to learn more about invasive black carp, state and federal fisheries partners are expanding the scope of a bounty program to more broadly engage commercial fishers in providing black carp for research.
No bighead or silver carp found during intensive monitoring in Chicago Area Waterway System
No bighead or silver carp were captured or observed in the Chicago Area Waterway System during the Fall Seasonal Intensive Monitoring effort involving two weeks of intensive sampling in late September and early October 2025.
2025 mid-year update on targeted mass removal of invasive carp from the Illinois River
Two separate but complementary invasive carp mass removal projects on the Illinois River – amounting to nearly 46 million pounds removed to date – are on track to meet or exceed the goals set in the 2025 Invasive Carp Regional Coordinating Committee Action Plan.
No invasive carp found during intensive monitoring in Chicago Area Waterway System
No bighead or silver carp were captured or observed in the Chicago Area Waterway System during the Spring Seasonal Intensive Monitoring effort involving two weeks of intensive sampling in late May 2025.
No bighead or silver carp captured during 2024 Seasonal Intensive Monitoring
No bighead or silver carp were captured or observed in the Chicago Area Waterway System during the Fall Seasonal Intensive Monitoring effort involving two weeks of intensive sampling in early October 2024.
Dead invasive silver carp removed from the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources and the Invasive Carp Regional Coordinating Committee today announced the removal of a dead invasive silver carp from the Lockport Pool in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal.
Army Corps, Illinois, and Michigan sign agreement to move Brandon Road Interbasin Project forward and unlock Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding for construction
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Rock Island District, and the states of Illinois and Michigan signed a project partnership agreement for the Brandon Road Interbasin Project, moving the project forward into construction phase.
More than $47 million for 45 projects announced for the ongoing battle against invasive carp in the Great Lakes basin
To support the ongoing battle to reduce the destructiveness of invasive carp and the threats they pose to the Great Lakes, the Invasive Carp Regional Coordinating Committee today announced the release of its annual Invasive Carp Action Plan for 2024.
IDNR concludes record-breaking invasive carp removal effort on Upper Illinois River
Illinois Department of Natural Resources fisheries biologists, with support from contracted commercial fishers and biologists from the Illinois River Biological Station, wrapped up a 10-day intensive harvest operation in the Starved Rock pool of the Illinois River, resulting in the removal of an astonishing 750,000 pounds of silver carp between Nov. 27 and Dec. 6.