WRD Environmental News & Events

Five hundred people gathered at Friends of the Chicago River’s annual Big Fish Ball were on hand recently when WRD was recognized with a Silver Ribbon Award for a riverfront rehabilitation. Friends’ annual awards program celebrates river-friendly design that helps connect people to the Chicago River through access, protects the quality of the water by addressing stormwater and provides habitat for wildlife in and along its waters.

Battling a nearly vertical river-edge slope, WRD cleared debris and invasive species, and installed native prairie plants, along with several other erosion-control measures to enhance the river and people’s experience of it.

Also recognized with an award that evening was the Cermak Road Streetscape, which WRD’s Jay Womack designed prior to his work at WRD.