MWRD Offering Tours of McCook Reservoir

The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) will host public tours of the first phase of the McCook Reservoir, set for completion in late 2017.

Tours are set for Sundays, Aug. 27, Sept. 17 and 24, and Oct. 1 and 15 between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m.

The MWRD will offer tours of the Mainstream Pumping Station and then bus visitors to the McCook Reservoir, the last and largest of three reservoirs being constructed as part of the Tunnel and Reservoir Plan (TARP). The tours will give visitors an overview of the TARP system and how it is designed to improve local water quality and mitigate flooding throughout Cook County.

Tours start at the Mainstream Pumping Station, 6100 S. River Road, Hodgkins. Visitors can view interactive displays and watch videos of TARP construction. Buses will transport visitors for a guided tour of the McCook Reservoir, which is located west of the Stevenson Expressway (I-55) between the Des Plaines River and Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. Each tour takes about two hours. Participants are advised to wear sturdy footwear; no sandals, high heels, shorts or dresses allowed. A limited number of spaces are available for taxpayers who use wheelchairs, MWRD officials said.

To reserve space on the tour, call (312) 751-6632 or email tours@mwrd.org. When completed, the reservoir will have a total capacity of 10 billion gallons, beginning with the first phase to be finished this year that will provide 3.5 billion gallons of storage. Phase 2 will be completed in 2029 and provide 6.5 billion gallons of storage. The McCook Reservoir will provide an average of $143 million per year in flood damage reduction benefits to 3,100,000 people in Chicago and 36 other communities.

TARP is the country’s largest public works project for pollution and flood control, covering a 375-mile area that includes Chicago and 51 suburbs relying on a combined collection system. The 109-mile network of tunnel systems, which capture 2.3 billion gallons of water 150 to 300 feet below ground, was completed in 2006. The Majewski Reservoir was completed in 1998 and the Thornton  Reservoir in 2015. When complete, the McCook Reservoir will replace Thornton as the largest reservoir of its kind in the world.