Why the US Army electrifies this water 

I hope the carp don't figure out how to dig a tunnel past this. Those carpal tunnels can be wicked.

One interesting thing not mentioned: the local paramedics have been given a 'no rescue' order. If you foolishly go into or near the electrified water and become injured, no one will come save you. The risks to the rescue personnel are too high.

It's a constant battle. The Great Lakes are also constantly fighting other invasive species like Zebra Mussels. They're non-native and mess with all kinds of things. I believe they arrived in the ballast water tanks of large ships.

I was the engineer on a boat that regularly passed through here while the barrier was being built and later while it was in 24/7 operation. The narrator is telling it like it is; we were not allowed on tow or on deck while transiting the barrier. I understand that a second barrier is to be built on the downstream of Brandon Road Lock in Joliet, as well. They have highway style programmable warning signs above and below the barrier, my crew wanted to hack the signs so that the last line it displayed was "FISH FRY TONITE!" 🙂

If you said "Guess why you can't kayak from the Gulf of Mexico to the great lakes." none of my guesses would be "because of a deadly electric fish barrier."

One of the safety rules I had to follow while filming was "don't touch two different metal things at the same time", just in case of any stray voltage. That's how powerful the barrier is.

Asian carp have ruined the fishing and water quality of so many lakes around where I live, I shudder thinking of how catastropic it would be if these fish get to the great lakes. Thanks Tom for helping to raise awareness about this huge issue!

I actually worked on the barrier with USACE to help them transition from a privately ran electrified barrier to one ran by USACE themselves! I created a blueprint of the whole electrical barrier and of all the equipment that’s there. I focused mainly on the printed circuit boards that powered and talked to the barrier, while my coworkers worked with the code that was sent from the computers to the barrier itself.

“US Army Electric Fish Barrier” is objectively incredibly funny and just seems like one of those web titles you’d see in Futurama as a headline for a news paper

Tom has found the greatest niche. Interesting things are everywhere. I'm just glad someone interesting finds these interesting places

I find it ironic how the little plant behind Tom is an Ailanthus altissima (chinese tree of heaven) - an invasive species that is an entirely different problem of its own and how it isnt bothered by the huge facility for preventing IAS spread its growing on.

In just four months, this has become one of Tom's most popular videos. Good Job.

Loved how he explained how a fish could get knocked out and essentially wake up like someone would in a ditch after a bender.

There's something magical about reading the words "US ARMY ELECTRIC FISH BARRIER" on a GUI, and also knowing that it's powerful enough for just standing near it to be at least mildly concerning for a human.

I work at the refinery attached to this place and Its so cool to see someone I watch regularly on RU-vid film where I work and make a video about things that actually directly impact me.

This was really fascinating! Thanks! So many interesting stuff everywhere. Just need to learn about it. :)

Just stuns them. For a minute, I thought the Army Corps of Engineers had actually created the world’s largest fish fry .

For anyone interested, a similar barrier has been proposed for the Suez canal in Egypt, to prevent fish from the Indian Ocean come to the Mediterranean. This migration is apparently facilitated by rising sea temperatures, and invasive species are already making a dent on the fish of the great Med. Most of them are inedible too (or even toxic to humans) so this is also a potential economic disaster for millions of people.

This is such a funny example for how seemingly small mistakes sometimes require literally giant solutions

I think stories like this are such good examples of unintended consequences. Both the problem and it’s possible solutions come from long lists of potentially spiraling unintended consequences

I'm loving this "Tom Scott tours the midwest" series!

My dad and I canoed through a school of these on the Fox River in illinois, we were both hurt by fish jumping. They were everywhere!

One of my favour parts of these videos is seeing the control systems for the processes. I work in industrial automation and very often have worked with things like the computers and instruments that are just a background element in the B-roll. I believe in one video it's stated that that really isnt' where Tom's interest lies, part of me enjoys that a bart of the videos that I am intersted in get no additional detail.

Thanks for transparency

There is no rescue plan only a recovery plan. Is what I was told if we fell into the water as a sub contractor on this project. There's so much electricity pumped into the ground that the nearby railroad track crossing would open randomly. Coolest project I've ever been on.

I remember when they were setting this up. that was a scary few years. A lot of people thought it was too late. At one point they found a carp in the lake, so they literally poisoned a several mile stretch of the lake, killing everything so they could examine all the fish corpses. I dont remember if they found more. But these barriers couldnt go up fast enough. Ironically the lake is now being killed by clams. The water has never been cleaner, but they're apparently causing problems for other species As for closing the canal. It might be the right choice, but it will never happen. Chicago doesnt exist without the canal. I honestly believe they might go as far as poisoning the entire river before they closed the canal. It's that important to so many industries across multiple states.

Very interesting segment. I had no idea electric barrier existed.

It’s incredibly scary to think what would happen if these defenses fail. Been unsettled by this ever since I learned about the carp problem. And I’m not even from the US

"The US Army Corps of Engineers has built a wall of automated gun turrets to engage any hostile carp that attempt to rush the checkpoint"

As a person who lives 5 miles away from this I did not know this was in fact electrified. Thanks Scott!

Great job engineers and operators!

One possible extreme measure not yet taken is a full on dry span with conveyors, dragging barges out of the water, over a mesh barrier and through pressure jets, into the other side

Just stuns them. For a minute, I thought the Army Corps of Engineers had actually created the world’s largest fish fry

SImilar thing happened here in Australia in the 1930's, Sugar Cane farmers had problems with cane beetles, they decided to import the cane toad to deal with them. Unfortunately the toads were not interested in eating the beetles, and now we have plague proportions of cane toads that have decimated the native wildlife of the areas that they have invaded.

Thank you Tom! Always so interesting and well presented. Sad how many times human-kind's best intentions have resulted in catastrophe (spitting atoms, an' all that).

Holy carp! This is ingenious.

Thanks for letting the engineer do the talking...he was very good in his explanation. Definitely deserves the job...

I appreciate Tom’s professionalism. Cruising RU-vid watching funny things is nice, but every now and then these informational ones done very well are a nice refresh.

It’s crazy hearing about things in places u live I did not expect to hear Peoria

Dude I didn't know you were in Peoria. I live here. That's awesome. Hope you had a good time.

love that @1:22 Tom happens to be standing right in front of an Ailanthus altissima (aka Tree of Heaven) sapling, a horribly invasive tree that we brought over as an ornamental garden plant, and is currently doing much of the same as the carp he's talking about

Absolute score and win for the US Army Corps of Engineers

Ive worked on 3 different tests or other systems for the Corp and they didn’t go well. The only serious solution is to crank this system to 11 and fry everything moving through.

The problem with the Asian Carp and the Great Lakes is that they arent just in the Illinois River. They are also making their way upstream from the east into Lake Erie, which presently lie unprotected...

Never thought Tom Scott would be visiting my town, I didn’t realize the electrified waterway was such a big deal until a bunch of videos got posted.

My dad worked in Chicago and helped reverse the water flow. He helped dig and build tunnels.

"There is no way for the carp to get past this point." That's a good one dude!

I've actually gone hiking many times right by the Illinois and Michigan canal, sometimes starting in Romeoville, Illinois. I never knew about invasive carp or the electrification of the canal, but I will say I did consider tresspassing and swimming in the canal for fun with the ships. I'll definitely be rethinking that idea. Great video.

I actually worked on this job site before. If you drop a tool on the ground you have to pick it upin a specific way to avoid being shocked by excess current.

When you forget the l in sparkling water

Maybe they should add a locks system where barges stop in the middle and they pulse the water in that middle zone with extra voltage a few times to make sure even smaller fish are knocked out. The locks could also double as a maintenance system, allowing them to block off the waterway entirely when the electric barrier needs to be serviced.

I used to be a tour guide on the Chicago river and we would talk about these fish. The lakes also have a zebra mussel problem. Chicago's waterways and sanitation system is so interesting

That electric grid in the water is terrifying and I'm sure effective. I say terrifying because I had a friend years ago killed by being electrocuted in water. Faulty wiring on the boat dock, he dropped something in the water, went in to get it, horrible way to go. I wasn't there but I still get emotional thinking about that whole mess.

Very interesting! thank you 😀

Wow, I never knew it was that serious and close to the great lakes

0:03 The fish is like "heelloooooo"

As a habitat ecologist, I HATE those 20th century American planners for their arrogance and hubris. They introduced countless invasive species as “solutions” to solve simple problems they were too lazy to deal with responsibly. So many amazing ecosystems across America have been utterly and irrevocably destroyed because of invasive species introduced by 20th century planners. My local ecosystem here on the Texas coast is Gulf Coast Tall Grass Prairie. There used to be 6.5 million acres of it here in Texas. Now over 99.9% of that habitat is lost, thanks in no small part to invasive species such as the Chinese tallow tree and various South American grasses.

I had know idea these were so close to getting into the Great Lakes. I’m a Michigander, and many of my greatest memories were spent at Lake Michigan. These would be devastating to our state!

I learned something new today.

I think the idea of adding miniature "locks" makes a lot of sense. Bring the barge in, shut the door, shock the crap out of anything in the water with EXTREME voltages, the open the other door and send it on it's way. If power goes out, the door is still there. A few strategic high pressure pipes/gates will keep things out of the lock area when not open and maintain water flow.

I'm starting to worry that a single long blackout or a powerful solar storm would singlehandedly destroy the entire ecosystem all over the Great Lakes

From what i know carp is just an invasive species, which is why people can overfish them, but at the same time they build lakes and breed carp in there specifically for fishing

learned more from tom than i did from 12 years in school

Finally someone of decent size commented on this. Believe it or not, my father got knocked out from an Asian carp jumping out of the water on the Illinois around the time this started. The things can get huge (by Midwestern standards).

My dad was part of the crew that built that pipeline in the background, one carries product and the other is for support. Pipefitters Local 597 Chicago, probably over 40 years ago.

Electric water? You mean Sprite?

Amazing! Educated experts make decisions that are catastrophic.

I work on the Illinois River pushing barges, for the same company that owns the towboat in this video. I am actually sitting just a few miles from the electric barrier right now. We have to lay grounding wires between the barges and the boat pushing them. The voltage is enough that a loose connection can cause an arc strong enough to weld the wire to the deck fittings. A connection with an inadequate wire such as car jumper cables can actually melt the wire.

There's koi that got lose into lake Michigan when the barrier failed. This happened a couple of years ago. We have Japanese carp running around the lake. Plus idiots went down to the lake and dumped the tropical fish in or flushed them.

What a huge logistical nightmare just because some people brought some carp into the river.

This is one of those times where I think the over-engineered solution they've come up is STILL NOT ENOUGH. Given the risks and the weaknesses.

Nice! We've got invasive carp here in Australia as well; it's on a smaller scale, because our rivers are smaller and more isolated from one another, but it's still bad. There's a control & eradication program running, and as a by-product of that you can get carp-derived plant fertiliser for quite cheap. That part is nice, at least.

i live in Ontario and we have carp in our lakes already, specifically in georgian bay which is connected to lake huron.

I am really comfy knowing all that stands between me and these things is... Chicago.

Another Tom Scott production on a subject I did not know existed, that I am delighted to have spent 10 minutes of my life - thanks Tom

As a Peorian, these carp are fun to watch when eating at the Steak and Shake in East Peoria, but I’ve heard stories of people being knocked unconscious from them. A few personal boats that go fishing in the Illinois have to have cages around their boats so that you don’t get knocked out yourself.

its amazing how such a big project with tens of millions invested could be ruined by a single person if someone decides to throw a few carp in the river upstream

i imagine this river as a kind of urban legend shared amonst fish families,all sit around their fish table "fish dad? why dont we go past the barrier of no fish return?" "son, there was once a story of the barrier of no fish return, nobody knows if its true or not... the barrier is impossible to get past, no matter what you do, you just wake up where you started." "why does that happen? fish dad?" *fish war flashbacks*

Loved listening to the engineer who works at the fish barrier, he really knows his stuff and explained it well.

Hi Tom Scott, We have something similar but different in the Netherlands. There is a sluise or lock between a saltwater and freshwater that is supposed to stay separated. They originally pumped the salt water out of the bottom and pumped freshwater back in before opening the lock, but now they use bubble walls too keep the water separated. It looks really cool, and can be another interesting place video.

We only have to worry if the carp figure out how to open doors ...

I remember lake ontario having a lot of big carp near the pickering power plant in the 80's, I would assume they are still there today

"They can weigh more than 30 kilos, and they are easily startled." Story of my life.

I love the bit about having to shut down the barrier. "We're trying to protect the ecosystem, so we dumped a ton of toxins into this river."

I like all the ducks in the background dipping in then immediately leaving then going back

Electrifying water feels like some strange newly added video game mechanic

This reminds me a little of the buffelgrass problem facing Arizona these days. It was bought from Africa to the area in the 1970s as a drought resistant grass for cattle and for erosion control. This grass seemed ideally suited to the area as it can go for 8 months in searing heat and rebound with a little water. Fire can't destroy it as buffelgrass roots rebound quickly in charred soil. No one considered how its introduction might effect other plants and animals. Because part of buffelgrass' annual process is to become dormant and dry out, the areas where it is introduced become tinderboxes. When fires occur, it kills the other plants in animals in the area, leaving the buffelgrass to grow even stronger the following year. Fast forward to today and buffelgrass is everywhere. Its introduction is now effecting Arizona's iconic saguaro cactus. The only way to get rid of buffelgrass is to pull it up by its roots and volunteers have been going into the desert and doing just that for decades. This has slowed the spread but unfortunately there's no way to eradicate it completely.

Meanwhile in 2075: “The invasion of toxin-adapted electric carp now bears down on Montreal, shocking anything that tries to get in their way…”

The barrier will only work for a short time. If you kill every fish in a pond, a few years later it will be full of fish again, assuming whatever killed the original fish is now gone. Where do the new fish come from? Do they walk in, no. Do they swim in, no. Do they fly in, amazingly, yes. Fish eggs get stuck on bird feathers, and can be transported to other nearby bodies of water. This is why the same species of fish end up in disconnected bodies of water. Birds will help the invasive carp bypass the barrier.

A barge conveyor that lifts the barges out of the water for few yards would seem to be one option. It would work in the same way that a River Rapids Car Lift works. It wouldn't slow down barges, but might not work for other sorts of watercraft.

I worked for the illinois department of natural resources in 2009-2012 when the carp problem was at a fever pitch. Charters and recreational boating was at an all time low because the carp would jump into boats and injure passengers

It's so sad the damage that invasive species can cause because they were introduced as a quick fix to a problem. I'm sure that most Aussies know about Cane toads, but they were introduced to deal with cane beetles. Unfortunately their toxins kill a lot of native animals and they now can be found all over eastern Australia. Humans can make such a huge impact with small decisions.

immaculate performance

We eradicated Carp from two lakes in Tasmania's highlands !Some eggs were brought in with what we think was in some fishermen's waders ! It took three years from memory and No More Karp in Tasmania Lakes

I work on a river boat and pass through there on occasion pushing barges. When we pass through, we have to run a steel wire from our boat to the barge that we're faced up to because there is a layer of rubber between the boat and the barges. This is to provide continuity of the electricity. When we pass through the arch that is behind Scott in several of the shots, you can see the electricity arcing between the boat and the arch.

Now that's place I like to swim in...

We've had some invasive carp show up on the Canadian side of Lake Ontario.

The opening info talked about how floods can potentially send them everywhere. So what happens if the electrical barrier fails due to a massive flood?

The Great Lakes have already taken a beating from invasive species. In fact, the sport fishing industry on the Lakes developed in part as an effort to restore the ecosystem after previous invasions destroyed the commercial fisheries. The book "The Death and Life of the Great Lakes" by Dan Egan covers it very well.