While the stockyards are gone, Bubbly Creek remains in its contaminated state. Accumulated sediments fill most of the channel and continue to produce gases, which foul the air and contribute to global warming. The headwaters of the creek are no longer the drainages of the two small tributary swales but, rather, a combined sewer pumping station operated by the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRDGC).

Today, Bubbly Creek is an opportunity, not the monstrous liability made famous by Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle. The creek could support a new kind of urban environment, one that brings beauty and wildlife into the city, provides high quality recreational opportunities, encourages and maintains economic development, and safely processes urban stormwater. Rehabilitation of Bubbly Creek is long overdue.

The Wetlands Initiative has developed a restoration plan to create riverine wetlands along the shores of the Turning Basin at the confluence with the South Branch, and in a short reach of the creek. Donald Hey, TWI’s senior vice president, is a member of Mayor Daley’s Bubbly Creek Task Force, working to develop plans to restore the creek.

Although restoration will be expensive, the innovative restoration of the South Fork will be worth the investment. The estimated cost for the South Fork is nearly $13.58 million or $888,008 per acre. However, the City and the Park District recently paid $10 million for a 2-acre parcel on the North Branch. This results in a $5 million per acre price.

A revitalized South Fork would invigorate the extensive network of organizations, agencies, and individuals interested in Chicago waterways. The seed for this effort was sown at the Canal Origins Park. This 1.8 acre park, on the shore of Bubbly Creek, is now one of the largest tracts of green space in the busy industrial district of Bridgeport, one of the city’s oldest neighborhoods. At the newly-opened park, visitors have access to view Bubbly Creek up close for the first time. By establishing a more naturalized environment in the river, we can create improved vistas and educational opportunities at this historic park. A two-mile pedestrian or biking trail could be created from the tip of the turning basin wetland on the west bank, south past the Canal Origins Park, to and over the 35th Street bridge, and back north on the east side of the creek.

The City of Chicago Department of Planning and Environment, the City Department of Environment, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have all expressed interest in moving forward with restoration of Bubbly Creek. Several environmental groups (e.g., the Canal Corridor Association, Openlands Project and Friends of the Chicago R iver) also support the project.