Wisconsin v. Illinois
Headline: Illinois bid to increase Lake Michigan water diversion is denied pending investigation; Court refuses temporary rise to 5,000 cubic feet per second and appoints Special Master to study sewage and health effects.
Holding:
- Keeps existing Lake Michigan diversion limit in place during investigation.
- Orders a quick fact-finding probe into sewage, health effects, and non-diversion remedies.
- Delays any temporary increase to 5,000 cubic feet per second until further findings.
Summary
Background
The State of Illinois asked the Court for a temporary change to a long-standing order that limits how much water may be taken from the Great Lakes system through the Chicago Drainage Canal. Illinois sought permission to raise the diversion from the court’s limit of 1,500 cubic feet per second to 5,000 cubic feet per second, until December 31, 1942. State officials said sewage-treatment work was not finished and that untreated sewage had created foul and unsafe conditions along the Sanitary District Canal and the Illinois Waterway for nearby communities like Lockport and Joliet.
Reasoning
The Court said Illinois had not shown it used every possible means to finish the required sewage-treatment system and offered no adequate excuse for the delay. The State also failed to prove that the complained-of conditions actually threatened public health or that the State could not fix or lessen the problem without taking more water from Lake Michigan, which would violate the rights of the other States in the original case. For these reasons the Court did not grant the requested temporary increase. Instead, the Court appointed a Special Master to make a prompt, focused investigation into the waterway conditions, any health effects on local residents, and whether remedies exist that do not require greater diversion.
Real world impact
The existing diversion limit stays in place while the Special Master investigates. Local complaints will be examined on the ground, and the final outcome about any change in diversion will depend on the Master’s report and further court action. The ruling is an interim, fact-finding step, not a final decision on the merits.
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