A Great Lakes mayors' group called the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Cities Initiative and the Great Lakes Commission said Tuesday they raised $2 million from six foundations and are pushing forward with their own study to come up with a plan on how to re-establish the natural separation between Lake Michigan and the Asian carp-infested Mississippi River basin that Chicago canals destroyed more than 100 years ago, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.

"We are intensively focused on completing the project by the end of 2011 and presenting options for separation in January 2012," said Tim Eder, executive director of the Great Lakes Commission, an interstate agency that promotes regional economic and environmental interests.

The Chicago River was reversed in 1900 when Chicago built the Sanitary and Ship Canal to carry its sewage away from Lake Michigan and into the Mississippi basin. Now, as evidence mounts that Asian carp have breached an electric barrier on the canal about 30 miles south of Lake Michigan, officials are working to block the carp's main path into the Great Lakes, officials said.

One likely scenario would require some type of damming system along the canal which would require upgrades on how Chicago handles its wastewater so it could be discharged into Lake Michigan, the Journal Sentinel said.

"We have a unique opportunity to not only protect the Great Lakes and Mississippi River from serious invaders but improve the quality of life and economic well-being for the residents of greater Chicago and the Great Lakes basin for many generations to come," said David Ullrich, executive director of the Cities Initiative.

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