One of the most direct ways that Chicagoans sought to improve water quality was to draw drinking water from as far out into the lake as possible. By 1869, the first lake tunnel had been completed one mile into the lake at Chicago Avenue. While Chicagoans did not yet know the actual epidemiology of typhoid and cholera, they knew they wanted water that smelled and tasted purer, and that purity seemed to affect disease levels. Dr. O. N. Huff mapped the water intake locations in 1887 and 1892, showing the improvements with water drawn from further out in the lake.

Creators: Arthur R. Reynolds and Allen Hazen
Source: Chicago Historical Society (ICHi-37409)