When I noticed the SantaFe bridge across the Des Plaines river, which is a few hundred feet north of the SantaFe bridge across the Sanitary and Ship Canal, it was obvious that the river was several feet higher than the canal. The following four images were taken on the same day, May 14, 2014. There were some thunder storms the previous day so not only was the river high, there was a visible water flow in the canal.
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| Upstream (Eastish) Side |
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| Downstream (Westish) Side |
The Egret in the water is just to the right of the entrance to the channel in the middle of the picture.
Note the waves in the canal in the following picture. You could see the water flowing in the canal. Normally the surface is calm as in a Flickr picture that is referenced by Bridge Hunter. My second trip was delayed until May 14 because we were having rain the previous few days.
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| Downstream Side of the canal bridge. |
Because the Des Plaines river is higher than the canal, when it floods, it drains into the canal. At the end of the industrial frontage road that goes under the Lemont SantaFe Railroad Bridge, Canal Bank Road, is the resumption of a trail that goes along the Sanitary and Ship Canal. The US Army Corps of Engineers has installed the following sign. It is followed by the four quadrants so that the text is readable.
The view downstream (westish) of the sign. You can see the barrier heights progress from the white concrete barrier at the end to the four foot and six foot fences.
The view upstream (eastish) from the sign. It appears to be six feet until the trail turns. The fact that some places need an eight foot fence implies that the flood waters can be over six feet deep.
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