CHICAGO, June 20 (UPI) -- Beaches in Chicago closed Saturday after a record rainfall forced the discharge of untreated sewage water into Lake Michigan, city officials said.
"The skies just opened up and dropped it on us," said Jill Horist, a spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, which treats raw sewage.
For the first time since March, the district Friday opened the Wilmette locks to discharge untreated water directly into Lake Michigan, Horist told the Chicago Tribune in a story published Saturday.
Water samples from area beaches were be tested Saturday for evidence of sewage contamination before reopening the beaches, she said.
O'Hare International Airport recorded 3.54 inches of rain Friday, which broke the previous record for the area's wettest June 19, set in 1961 with 1.79 inches of rain.
Some parts of central Illinois received up to 4 inches of rain Friday, the National Weather Service reported.
