Sun-Times graphic by Greg Good - click for full size. Or download the PDF: SEWAGE14.pdf
Chicago is, famously, the City that Works. We know how to get things done. Keep the mail moving.
Chicago knows how to take care of business. But what happens when the business is done in a major metropolitan area? That's right, sewer reclamation!
OK, it may not be the sexiest subject. In fact, it's at least borderline disgusting for lots of people. But without an efficient waste removal and treatment system, well, we're in the Middle Ages.
Dysentery, anyone? No? Exactly
So, perhaps the cornerstone of modern society comes down to doing away cleanly with what we flush down our sewers and let flow down our drains. And despite what you might infer its usual color, that muck is not just dumped straight into the Chicago River. The Chicago Water Reclamation District takes 1.4 million gallons of raw sewage and wastewater each day from the entire metro area and in just 8 hours pulls off what Mother Nature takes a few weeks to do - filter impurities out of the water that flows through our lives.
The above graphic offers an explanation of how we get from nasty to natural. Something the ponder the next time you're taking a few moments of quiet time for yourself.
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