The Saline River is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately long, in the Southern Illinois region of the U.S. state of Illinois. The river drains a large section of southeast Illinois, with a drainage basin of . The major tributaries include the South Fork, Middle Fork and North Fork, all lying within the Saline Valley. The once meandering swampy river was important among Native Americans and early settlers as a source of salt from numerous salt springs where it was commercially extracted in the early 19th century. History From 1807 to 1818, Illinois paid the United States Treasury $28,160.25 in revenue. During the same time, Ohio paid $240 and Indiana, Kentucky and Missouri paid nothing. One third of the State of Illinois revenue came from the salt industry coming from African American slaves working on the Saline River in 1818. The last concessionaire of the Saline Springs was John Crenshaw, then owner of what became known as the Old Slave House. During the late 18th century, the river had heavy barge traffic. It was navigable for keel boats and batteaux for inland from the mouth at the Ohio River. The farthest point west that could still accommodate flat boats and barges is the largest city on the river Harrisburg, Illinois, but the river has not been used for navigation in almost a century. It is today used mainly as an oversized drainage ditch of little interest except for flood control. Bidding for straightening and dredging began in 1930. On June 18, 1888, an act of January 25, 1849, declaring the Saline River to be navigable, was repealed by the Illinois General Assembly. The river was deemed "impractical" for navigation due to the "anxiousness" of County residents to build bridges across it. Watershed The main stem of the Saline River is long and drains . The river is formed by the confluence of the South Fork and the Middle Fork east of Harrisburg. The South Fork is long and rises in northern Johnson County within the Lake of Egypt reservoir. The Middle Fork is long and rises in southwestern Hamilton County. The North Fork of the Saline River is long and joins the main stem east of Equality, having risen in central Hamilton County southeast of McLeansboro. In 1995, stream quality was rated as "Fair" to "Good". Causes of pollution include inorganics, nutrients, siltation, organic enrichment (low dissolved oxygen) and