republic-os/legal/us/code/title-33/chapter-9/section-426k.md

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type	title	description	jurisdiction	corpus	kind	title_number	title_name	chapter_number	chapter_name	section	citation	status	release_point	release_date	source	source_url	source_identifier	source_file	source_hash	raw_snapshot_hash	text_hash	retrieved_at	confidence	tags
LegalText	33 U.S.C. § 426k	Five year demonstration program to temporarily increase diversion of water from Lake Michigan at Chicago, Illinois	us	united_states_code	code_section	33	NAVIGATION AND NAVIGABLE WATERS	9	PROTECTION OF NAVIGABLE WATERS AND OF HARBOR AND RIVER IMPROVEMENTS GENERALLY	426k	33 U.S.C. § 426k	current	119-100	2026-06-26	official	https://uscode.house.gov/download/releasepoints/us/pl/119/100/xml_usc33@119-100.zip	/us/usc/t33/s426k	data/legal/raw/us/code/title-33/usc33.xml	10933a9293be7af9a7ce4db4017c1d52f30e8ce90ba5a26dbfef3cb12795193a	de3d130b31eae77f8c0fc593f61b7287899297718d678d500eea123559828523	31d18ca2112f48ddb0c92cc820186a182e56933ed33f08f8e76e37b21b47034f	2026-07-04	official	legal us-code

33 U.S.C. § 426k - Five year demonstration program to temporarily increase diversion of water from Lake Michigan at Chicago, Illinois

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(a) Authorization of Secretary of the Army; purpose; amounts of increase; incremental accomplishment; effects on Illinois Waterway; responsibilities for development, implementation, and supervision In order to alleviate water damage on the shoreline of Lake Michigan and others of the Great Lakes during periods of abnormally high water levels in the Great Lakes, and to improve the water quality of the Illinois Waterway, the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers, is authorized to carry out a five-year demonstration program to temporarily increase the diversion of water from Lake Michigan at Chicago, Illinois, for the purpose of testing the practicability of increasing the average annual diversion from the present limit of three thousand two hundred cubic feet per second to ten thousand cubic feet per second. The demonstration program will increase the controllable diversion by various amounts calculated to raise the average annual diversion above three thousand two hundred cubic feet per second up to ten thousand cubic feet per second. The increase in diversion rate will be accomplished incrementally and will take into consideration the effects of such increase on the Illinois Waterway. The program will be developed by the Chief of Engineers in cooperation with the State of Illinois and the Metropolitan Sanitary District of Greater Chicago. The program will be implemented by the State of Illinois and the Metropolitan Sanitary District of Greater Chicago under the supervision of the Chief of Engineers.

(b) Establishment of monthly controllable diversion rates; average annual level of Lake Michigan and total diversion for succeeding accounting year During the demonstration program a controllable diversion rate will be established for each month calculated to establish an annual average diversion from three thousand two hundred cubic feet per second to not more than ten thousand cubic feet per second. When the level of Lake Michigan is below its average level, the total diversion for the succeeding accounting year shall not exceed three thousand two hundred cubic feet per second on an annual basis. The average level of Lake Michigan will be based upon the average monthly level for the period from 1900 to 1975.

(c) River stages approaching bankfull conditions on Illinois Waterway or Mississippi River or further increased diversion adversely affecting St. Lawrence Seaway water levels: limitation on diversion When river stages approach or are predicted to approach bankfull conditions at the established flood warning stations on the Illinois Waterway or the Mississippi River, or when further increased diversion of water from Lake Michigan would adversely affect water levels necessary for navigational requirements of the Saint Lawrence Seaway in its entirety throughout the Saint Lawrence River and Great Lakes-Saint Lawrence Seaway, water shall not be diverted directly from Lake Michigan at the Wilmette, O’Brien, or Chicago River control structures other than as necessary for navigational requirements.

(d) Additional study and demonstration program: determination of effects on Great Lakes levels and Illinois Waterway water quality and susceptibility to additional flooding and investigation of other adverse or beneficial impacts; report and recommendations to Congress The Chief of Engineers shall conduct a study and a demonstration program to determine the effects of the increased diversion on the levels of the Great Lakes, on the water quality of the Illinois Waterway, and on the susceptibility of the Illinois Waterway to additional flooding. The study and demonstration program will also investigate any adverse or beneficial impacts which result from this section. The Chief of Engineers, at the end of five years after October 22, 1976, will submit to the Congress the results of this study and demonstration program including recommendations whether to continue this authority or to change the criteria stated in subsection (b) of this section.

(e) “Controllable diversion” defined For purposes of this section, controllable diversion is defined as that diversion at Wilmette, O’Brien, and Chicago River control structures which is not attributable to leakage or which is not necessary for navigational requirements.

(Pub. L. 94–587, § 166, Oct. 22, 1976, 90 Stat. 2934.)