A sign of summer months, the MWRD’s Melas Centennial Fountain can be seen from far and wide, spraying its memorable arc over the Chicago River. The arc is surrounded by boats, activity along the Riverwalk and a soaring and changing skyline. It represents more than a century of progress and commitment from the MWRD working to improve the quality of the Chicago River to protect the public health, enhance waterway ecology, stimulate economic development and serves as a welcome entrance to Chicago. 

Unfortunately, a record rainfall combined with high lake levels caused catastrophic flooding of the equipment at the Centennial Fountain in May 2020 at the height of the pandemic. While the world diverted its attention to the pandemic and stay-at-home orders, the MWRD went to work providing its essential services to keep water flowing. The MWRD dedicated all available staff and resources to keep its seven water reclamation plants, pump stations, Tunnel and Reservoir Plan infrastructure, stormwater reservoirs, and other essential facilities in full operation to protect the citizens of Cook County. It was essential that the MWRD stay at it post to assure that when citizens flushed their toilets, took a shower, or it rained, that all that water was collected, treated and transformed into clean water to protect the environment.

Once it became apparent that a full replacement of the fountain equipment was necessary, the MWRD retained the services of a design consultant for the fountain rehabilitation. Supply chain issues created long lead times for the needed equipment. MWRD skillful trades and engineers have since completed construction and are now testing the fountain operations and anticipate completion by late summer 2024.

The MWRD understands that neighbors and visitors enjoy the fountain, and likewise, cannot wait to see it placed back into service. 

Located on the north bank of the Chicago River at McClurg Court, the cannon shoots off for five minutes on the hour each day from 10 a.m. to 11:05 p.m., except between 3 and 4 pm. River traffic is alerted to the cannon activity by two warning indicator lights. The fountain is named after former MWRD President Nicholas J. Melas and was dedicated in 1989, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the MWRD’s establishment.

The American Society of Civil Engineers in 1999 named the MWRD work in reversing the flow of the Chicago River in 1900 as a “Civil Engineering Monument of the Millennium.” The MWRD constructed local waterways, including the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, the Cal-Sag Channel and North Shore Channel, around the turn of the 20th century for the purpose of reversing the flow of the river with the main intent of providing drainage for the Chicago region and conveying used water. Thanks to years of investment, testing and innovation, the quality of the water has drastically improved to accommodate a range of activities along the river not imagined decades ago. 

The investments the MWRD has made in protecting local waterways has yielded positive results, cleaner waters for an increasing population of fish species and spurred economic development and activity on and along the river. The Melas Centennial Fountain symbolizes this movement for water quality and the work of the MWRD.

Water quality improvements have proven to be essential factors for nurturing aquatic life. The MWRD’s Tunnel and Reservoir Plan (TARP) has helped reduce water pollution and promoted healthier homes for freshwater fish living in the CAWS. In addition to TARP and other measures to improve water quality, the MWRD has also introduced sidestream elevated pool aeration (SEPA) stations and other instream aeration stations to help inject needed oxygen into the waterways and implemented chlorination and dechlorination technologies to disinfect water at the MWRD’s Calumet Water Reclamation Plant (WRP), and UV disinfection at the O’Brien WRP in Skokie. 

The cannon at Melas Fountain runs from May through October, but it will not go off if there are high winds or strong storms.