Mud to Parks
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Years of planning, research, and effort paid off in 2004 as the "Mud to Parks" project was officially launched.
The Illinois River provides commerce, recreation, and environmental habitat for a major portion of the state of Illinois. However, the river has been filling with sediment for the past century to the point that few areas outside the main channel are more than two feet deep. The result is a significant decrease in recreational use and fish and wildlife populations.
The Waste Management and Research Center (WMRC) has been one of the leading agencies in the effort to revive this river. WMRC's John Marlin has been spearheading a plan to remove mud that has been clogging the Illinois River and take it to places where it can help revitalize brownfields. Illinois Lt. Governor Pat Quinn and Congressman Ray LaHood are both strong advocates of this plan and helped secure funding for it to move ahead.
In April, the first barges were filled with this sediment and sent on their way to Chicago. Through the "Mud to Parks" project, 105,000 tons of sediment is being dredged from Peoria Lake-a wide stretch of the Illinois River at Peoria. It is loaded into 70 barges and shipped 163 miles up the Illinois River to a former steel mill site in Chicago, now a slag-covered site devoid of life. Upon arrival, it's unloaded and spread atop the slag, covering 17 acres to a depth of 2-3 feet. Grasses and flowers have been planted and the rich, fertile sediment is turning into a green park on the shore of Lake Michigan. Plans call for new housing to appear nearby and a new lakefront community will be created.
Two barge-loads of this dredge material also were placed on an old field at Banner Marsh Fish and Wildlife Area near Peoria. This is a pilot project to determine the feasibility of obtaining topsoil for projects that restore aquatic habitat to backwaters. The Banner Marsh was once strip-mined and much of the site has very poor topsoil.
The "Mud to Parks" project has generated a great deal of publicity. Articles about it appeared in newspapers throughout Illinois, including the Chicago Tribune and Sun-Times. It also was featured in the New York Times. Articles about the project written by John Marlin have appeared in several international dredging magazines.
The project involves a number of divisions of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, the University of Illinois, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and a variety of federal, state, and local organizations. Several private companies also have been active in the project.
Restoring the greatness of the Illinois River will provide recreational and economic opportunities for Illinois citizens and help make the state more attractive to potential employers and their workers.
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