As I wrote in my story today, cleaning up the river after last Monday's monster thunderstorms was a serious task.  The Department of Streets and Sanitation pulled over 21,000 pounds of debris from the river in the three days following the storm, and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District barely recovered from massive equipment failures in their efforts that night.

Both groups had boats on the river last week, cleaning up debris at Wolf Point, where the North and South Branches of the river meet.  It's a focal point of cleanup work because debris swept into the river tends to collect at the confluence.

These videos of the boats were shot last Wednesday morning, the second day after the storm.

Workers aboard the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District's pontoon boat scoop flotsam from the Chicago River at Wolf Point.



The Department of Streets and Sanitation's new boat, DSS Two, oxegenates the water while it eats up debris.

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