When James O’Hara was a Northwestern student, he would cross the North Shore Channel on his way to the football stadium. The canal, which collects Evanston’s sewage and rainwater, was only memorable for its terrible smell, he said.
Now O’Hara is a candidate for the Illinois House of Representatives’ 18th District, which includes most of Evanston, and he has made the canal a central issue in his campaign against incumbent Julie Hamos.
He said the channel is largely responsible for increasing Lake Michigan bacteria levels, specifically e coli.
“We are knowingly contributing to bacterial contamination of the North Shore Channel, which is invariably going into Lake Michigan,” O’Hara said.
The contamination also hurts the local economy because beaches along Lake Michigan close when bacteria counts exceed safety levels, costing communities along the lake thousands of dollars in related revenue, he said.
But Hamos said the issue is only one of many in the election and more information is needed before any action is taken.
Terrence O’Brien, president of the board of commissioners for the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, which runs the channel, said the canal does not pose a serious threat to the environment. The water only empties into Lake Michigan after a heavy rainstorm, he said.
“Even (when it overflows) it’s only 10 percent sewage,” he said. “That’s much better than it used to be.” The majority of the sewage is diverted into 93 miles of underground tunnels.
But O’Hara said stricter safety standards are needed to further reduce bacteria levels. Current laws do not require the water reclamation district to disinfect the water in the channel.
The process, known as chlorinization, would reduce bacteria but kill existing fish and plant life, O’Brien said.
Laurel O’Sullivan, staff attorney for the Lake Michigan Federation, a conservation organization, said alternatives to chlorinization include ultraviolet radiation. Lake County in northern Illinois has used this method, she said.
O’Hara held two open forums this summer on the canal and said Evanston residents were interested in stricter controls, especially after the outbreak of the West Nile virus. He said the channel was a stagnant body of water and attracted mosquitoes.
But O’Brien said the water in the canal does flow and is not a cause of West Nile.
Jay Terry, Evanston’s director of health and human services, said there is no clear indication the canal is linked to the West Nile outbreak.
But O’Hara said the channel’s potential health risks make it an important election issue. He said Hamos has not been active enough.
“She is talking about proposals that she’s made, but they have only been really recently after I brought it up as part of my campaign,” he said.
Hamos said she has made efforts to determine if the canal poses any health concerns.
In early September, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency agreed to include the North Shore Channel in an upcoming usage study after Hamos and two other representatives wrote the agency a letter.
She said she would attempt to create an intergovernmental task force to address any issues after results are released.
