Cal-Sag Channel

The Calumet-Saganashkee Channel, usually shortened to the Cal-Sag Channel, is a 16-mile-long (26 km) canal in southern Cook County, Illinois, operated by the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago. Constructed between 1911 and 1922, it connects the Little Calumet River to the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. Between 1955 and 1958 the channel was widened by the Army Corps of Engineers to the current 225 feet (69 m).[1]

Calumet-Saganashkee Channel
The Cal-Sag Channel at Blue Island, facing northeast
Location	Cook County, Illinois
Country	United States
Coordinates	41°41′6″N 87°50′49″W
Specifications
Length	16 miles (26 km)
Locks	None
Status	Open
History
Construction began	1911
Date completed	1922
Geography
Start point	Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal
End point	Little Calumet River

The Cal-Sag Channel serves barge traffic in what was an active zone of heavy industry in the far southern neighborhoods of the city of Chicago and adjacent suburbs. As of 2006 it was also used more as a conduit for wastewater from southern Cook County, including the Chicago-area Deep Tunnel Project, into the Illinois Waterway. It is also used by pleasure crafts in the summer time.

The western 4.5 miles (7.2 km) of the channel flow through the Palos Forest Preserve, a large area of parkland operated by the Forest Preserve District of Cook County.

The Cal-Sag Channel served as the rowing venue for the 1959 Pan American Games.[2]

When it is completed, the Calumet-Sag Trail, a 26-mile-long (42 km) greenway, will border the channel and will stretch from the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal to the Burnham Greenway.