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Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago

Located in Lockport, Ill., the MWRD built the Lockport Powerhouse in 1907 which marks the southern point of the MWRD-managed Chicago Area Waterway System (CAWS). The Powerhouse is located where the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal connects with the Des Plaines River. The facility is an integral part of the MWRD's work to manage the CAWS to reduce the risk of flooding throughout the MWRD service area. The Powerhouse allows the MWRD to control the levels of the waterways and provides financial benefits from hydroelectric power generation. The water flowing through the facility is harnessed by two turbines to provide a safe and environmentally friendly hydroelectric energy source that is sold back to Commonwealth Edison. The MWRD earns approximately 1 million dollars per year from generating hydroelectricity at Lockport Powerhouse. 

 

A large waterway lock structure and hydro electric powerhouse at the intersection of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal and the Des Plaines River

 

Hydroelectric Power Generation at Lockport Powerhouse

2022 21,929,152 kWh $836,182.59
2021 32,499,834 kWh $779,450.48
2020 37,608,633 kWh $868,630.58
2019 41,131,268 kWh $1,093,794.89
2018 42,004,233 kWh $1,135,079.84
2017 37,583,707 kWh $1,041,780.24
2016 35,595,896 kWh $990,097.68
2015 41,595,703 kWh $1,299,793.17
Interior views of Lockport Powerhouse in 1907 and in 2020.