(Above) An arc of water shoots across the Chicago River in this image captured in 2009 by Jyoti Srivastava. (Click on image to view larger version.)

25-Mar-15 – The water cannon that shoots an arc across the Chicago River from McClurg Court will get an hour added to its daily schedule but the duration is being shortened.

During the summer for the past 25 years, the cannon has activated for ten minutes every hour, on the hour, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and then again in the evening from 5 p.m. to midnight.

The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago is adding an hour, 3 p.m. to 4 p.m., but to reduce congestion and increase safety on the river, the duration of the water arc will be reduced to five minutes.

The concern is for human-powered watercraft such as kayaks that can get swamped if caught in the middle of the water arc.

Michael Borgstrom, president of Chicago Harbor Safety Committee, wrote to the MWRD, requesting the duration of the water cannon be reduced and that some sort of audible and visual signal be added to warn that the cannon is about to activate.

Saying “safety on the waterways is a priority” for MWRD, executive director David St. Pierre agreed on March 10 to both requests.

The date on which the new schedule takes effect has not yet been decided. The committee will work with MWRD to determine exactly what the alert, one minute prior to the start of the cannon, will look and sound like, understanding that the fountain is located in the middle of a residential neighborhood.

Borgstrom, who is also president of Wendella Sightseeing Company, says the alarm should be positioned close to river level.

“It’s really for the human-powered craft, for them to know that this thing is going off,” Borgstrom (left) said on Tuesday. “We know when it’s going off. Our watches are set to the second. We know when it goes. And when it ends.”

Designed by architect Dirk Lohan, the Nicholas J. Melas Centennial Fountain, named for a long-time MWRD commissioner, was built in 1989 to commemorate the district’s 100th anniversary. The hours of the water cannon have not changed since 1990.