Illinois Waterway

The United States Army Corps of Engineers maintains a 9-foot-deep (2.7 m) navigation channel in the waterway.

Cargoes include bulk commodities, such as coal, chemicals, and petroleum, as well as corn, soybeans and other agricultural products.

During some winters, ice floes, especially around the locks and dams, occasionally prevent navigation on the Waterway.

A series of eight locks, managed by the Army Corps of Engineers, controls water flow from Lake Michigan to the Mississippi River system.

The amount of water released into the Illinois often is a sore point among lake and river interests.

T. J. O’Brien Lock and Dam on the Calumet River, part of the Illinois Waterway
Schematic of the Illinois Waterway from the Mississippi River to Lake Michigan
Schematic of the Illinois Waterway from the Mississippi River to Lake Michigan