Currently
Two heavily polluted streams that joined to create the south fork were later filled in, but their courses can still be seen today in the configuration of streets and railroad tracks in the area.
The creek has remained toxic to the present day. While the area has been increasingly occupied by residential development such as Bridgeport Village, some wildlife and vegetation has returned in recent decades. Areas near the creek have been designated for recreational uses including parks, and developers and the city agreed on a 60-foot (18 m) setback to allow for remediation. During heavy rains, millions of gallons of wastewater are dumped into the stagnant creek by the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago.
A program to oxygenate the creek by continuously injecting compressed air into the water has met with limited success; the creek's odor is much reduced, and fish now venture there.
As of 2007, the City of Chicago and the Army Corps of Engineers are considering a $2.65 million feasibility study to look at restoration options, which would have implications for the remainder of the Chicago River system due to the unusual challenges of Bubbly Creek. The creek's waters are largely stagnant, having little gravitational flow, but the study will look into possibilities including a meandering stream amid a wetland to restore an oxygenated system.
Read more about this topic: Bubbly Creek