50 years after its inception, the effects of the Clean Water Act can still be seen on the Chicago River

CHICAGO — Tuesday marks 50 years since the start of the Clean Water Act. The law helped direct dollars and projects toward cleaning up the nation’s waterways, including the historic Chicago River.

The Chicago River is now the cleanest it has been in 150 years. It has also led to more development along the riverbank.

Margaret Frisbie runs Friends of the Chicago River, a non-profit organization dedicated to keeping the river clean.

“There’s a lot of wildlife,” she said. “Much more than people expect, that’s one of the fun surprises I think about the river.”

The recent surge in development with projects like 78, Lincoln Yards and the anticipated Bally’s Casino will come with some initiatives to keep the river clean and accessible to residents. All developments must be set back 30 feet from the river to allow for a public river path.

Cindy Roublik works in the Planning and Development department.

“A lot of these developments are happening in former industrial areas, so we’re changing the industrial use to a mixed-use development,” she said.

In the past five years, the Planning Commission has approved 25,000 new residential units along the river and 10 million square feet of office space.