MichiganRadio

Did Weekend Flooding Send Asian Carp Into Lake Michigan? ANN ARBOR, MI (Associated Press) -

An effort to keep Chicago area rivers from flooding this weekend may have lead to Asian Carp being flushed into Lake Michigan.

Up to 7 inches of rain fell on Chicago last weekend. To decrease the potential of flooding, gates holding back some rain swollen rivers were opened, allowing an estimated 60 billion gallons of water to pass into Lake Michigan.

And possibly some Asian Carp.
The carp are an invasive species that could threaten the Great Lakes ecosystem.

"Well, these water ways are all connected," says Joel Brammeier, president of the Alliance for the Great Lakes, "And certainly, there have been positive DNA hits near each of the facilities that sent river water out into Lake Michigan this past weekend."

A Water Reclamation District spokesman dismisses the possibility that the release could have passed Asian Carp into Lake Michigan, since no asian carp have ever been caught in the city's river system.

Several Great Lakes states, including Michigan, are suing to close off the rivers' access to Lake Michigan permanently. © Copyright 2012, Associated Press