Chicago Harbor Lock

{{Infobox waterlock

| name = Chicago Harbor Lock

| native_name =

| image = Chicago Harbor Lock 2009.jpg

| image_upright =

| alt =

| caption =

| waterway = Chicago River

| country = United States

| province =

| state = Illinois

| county = Cook County

| maint = US Army Corps of Engineers

| operation = Hydraulic

| first = 1938

| latest = 2011

| length = {{convert|600|ft|m|abbr=on}}

| width = {{convert|80|ft|m|abbr=on}}

| fall = {{convert|2|to|5|ft|m|abbr=on}}

| sealevel = {{convert|582|ft|m|abbr=on}}{{cite web |title=Great Lakes Water Level Observations |url=https://www.weather.gov/mkx/highlakemichiganwaterlevel |website=NOAA |accessdate=17 July 2020 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200812215630/https://www.weather.gov/mkx/highlakemichiganwaterlevel |archivedate=12 August 2020 |url-status=bot: unknown }}

| enda =

| distenda =

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| heritage =

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| map_size =

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| coordinates = {{coord|41.8884|-87.6064|type:landmark_region:US-IL|display=it}}

| extra =

}}

File:Chicago Harbor Lock (USGS).png

File:Outer Drive Bridge and Chicago Harbor Lock (2009).jpg in the foreground]]

The Chicago Harbor Lock, also known as the Chicago River & Harbor Controlling Works, is a stop lock and dam located within the Chicago Harbor in Chicago, Illinois, at the mouth of the Chicago River. It is a component of the Chicago Area Waterway System, and is used to control water diversion from Lake Michigan into the river and for navigation.

History

The lock was built between 1936 and 1938 by the Sanitary District of Chicago primarily as a means of limiting diversion of water from Lake Michigan, but also as a component of the project to reverse the flow of the Chicago River to improve the water quality of the lake and for improved navigation. It is one of two entrances from the Great Lakes to the Chicago Area Waterway System, the other entrance being the T.J. O'Brien Lock and Dam on the Calumet River.

In 1984, maintenance and operation of the lock was transferred to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, though operation of the controlling works sluice gates stayed with the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District.{{cite web |last1=DeBruler |first1=Daniel |title=MWRD: Reducing Chicagolands' Great Lakes Water Usage (Chicago Harbor, CRCW) |url=https://industrialscenery.blogspot.com/2018/01/mwrd-reducing-chicagolands-great-lakes.html |website=Industrial History |access-date=22 February 2023}}{{cite web |last1=Kollias |first1=Louis |title=Report No. 08-15R, Description of the Chicago Waterway System for the Use of Attainability Analysis |url=https://mwrd.org/sites/default/files/documents/08-15_Description_of_CWS_Report_for_UAA.pdf |website=Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) |publisher=MWRD Research and Development Department |access-date=22 February 2023}}

Overview

The lock chamber is {{convert|600|ft|m}} long, {{convert|80|ft|m}} wide, and {{convert|22|ft|m}} deep and can accommodate up to 100 vessels at once. It contains two pair of {{convert|30|ft|m}} tall sector gates. The lock requires 12–15 minutes to cycle through a typical water-level difference of {{convert|2|to|5|ft|m|spell=in}}. Water level is controlled via gravity by partially opening and closing the lock gates.

The controlling works contains eight sluice gates along its piers, each measuring {{convert|10|ft|m}} x {{convert|10|ft|m}}, allowing water from Lake Michigan into the river for navigational and sanitation purposes during normal weather operations, and for allowing water out of the swollen river into the lake during heavy rainfall periods as a measure of last resort for flood control purposes.{{cite web |title=Chicago River and Harbor Controlling Works (NID ID IL55094) |url=https://nid.sec.usace.army.mil/#/dams/system/IL55094/description |website=National Inventory of Dams |publisher=U.S. Army Corps of Engineers |access-date=22 February 2023}}

The Chicago Harbor Lock is the fourth-busiest lock in the nation for commercial use and the second-busiest in the nation for recreational use.{{cite web|title=Chicago Harbor Lock|url=http://www.lrc.usace.army.mil/Portals/36/docs/navigation/ChicagoLock.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150911225652/http://www.lrc.usace.army.mil/Portals/36/docs/navigation/ChicagoLock.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 11, 2015|website=United States Army Corps of Engineers|accessdate=22 June 2016}}