Water Challenges
Water. H2O. Most of us in northeastern Illinois don’t pay much attention to our drinking water. We mindlessly turn on faucets dozens of times a day without pausing to consider questions that millions of people around the world worry about on a regular basis: Do we have enough? Is it clean? Will it endure?
We are lucky: In northeastern Illinois, we generally enjoy an ample amount of water thanks to our location along the shores of a Great Lake. But that good fortune has lulled us into complacency, and our drinking water systems have been neglected. Our proverbial glass is half empty.
This is the Metropolitan Planning Council’s bid to raise awareness, and our call to action on addressing water supply issues in our region. We are ready to form stronger partnerships with elected officials, utility managers and operators, funders, private organizations, nonprofits and others to advance a 10-point action agenda by 2021.
What’s at stake? Public health and safety risks, including contamination due to 100-year-old pipes and aging water treatment systems. Local and regional resiliency during times of crisis. New jobs and regional economic growth, since every company needs water—and some more than others. Vital ecosystems. Municipalities and their residents hard-pressed to afford the escalating costs to collect, treat and deliver drinking water. And, yes, some communities running out of water within 15 years.
The Metropolitan Planning Council is dedicated to ensuring a resilient, thriving, equitable and healthy region. While our water supply issues are significant, they are fixable. We invite you to join us in implementing this 10-point action agenda, to ensure our region’s glass remains full.
The top three drinking water issues we face as a region are encapsulated in the following three questions: Do we have enough? Is it clean? Will the system endure? The answer to all three questions will be a stark “no” if we do not take coordinated action.
What’s more, the system of infrastructure, institutions and regulations that bring water from the lake, rivers and underground aquifers to your tap is complicated and fragmented. Consumers are buffered from these complexities, and therefore are disconnected from understanding why we need to invest in this critical service that enables us to drink, bathe and indeed survive. Read on to learn why collective action now—versus when a crisis hits—is imperative.
Fragmented system, disconnected users
Did you know more than 400 community water supply systems operate in northeastern Illinois? Yes—over 400—and each individual utility produces or purchases drinking water, and distributes it through a system of pipes and pumps they maintain. Most of these utilities are owned and managed by a municipality, which means decisions about water utility operations, infrastructure investment, future planning and service rates are made at the local level by elected officials who may or may not have prior expertise in managing a water utility.