Its carrying of excess run-off in high water events has been largely taken over by the Chicago Deep Tunnel, but there are still occasional intentional discharges back into the lake, as flood prevention in times of very heavy rains, causing episodic concern regarding effects on lake water quality.

[1] From the pumping station, the channel flows southwest, and then south, through or near Wilmette, Evanston, Skokie, and Lincolnwood, and into Chicago.

[5] The Tunnel and Reservoir Plan (TARP) would eventually solve those issues along the North Branch, and starting in July 2018, the Army Corps of Engineers removed the dam, replacing it with a series of riffle pools, which allow fish to swim upstream.

[10] Bass and crappie are abundant, especially at the confluence of the Channel and the North Branch of the Chicago River, where the waterfall aerates the water.

Proposals are being considered to complete the final mile and a half of the trail, which would connect the path to Gillson Park at the Wilmette lakefront.