The Northeastern Illinois Regional Water Supply Planning Group earlier this month released a near-final report of its recommendations to ensure the region will have reliable and economically viable water sources as the population grows.
The group, which was convened in 2006 by the executive order of then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich, includes elected officials, environmental advocates and business and community leaders from the 11-county region in northeastern Illinois. The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning was appointed to spearhead the effort.
The regional population could increase 26 percent to 10.6 million by 2030, according to the Water Supply Planning Group's draft report. Based on that data, the group projects demand for water could increase as much as 64 percent by 2050.
"Given the known constraints on water sources in the region, population growth projections suggest it would be foolish to assume water will always remain relatively abundant as it has in the past," the group wrote in its latest draft report.
The report includes separate analyses and recommendations for areas of the region that are dependent on groundwater, surface water or Lake Michigan water.
Chicago and its immediately surrounding suburbs rely primarily on Lake Michigan water.
The Lake Michigan service region uses about 2.1 billion gallons of water a day, according to the report. At least half of that is used for public drinking water.
"We are promoting conservation and efficiency ... but it really depends on the local circumstances as to which of the measures (we recommend) will make the most sense," CMAP's Tim Loftus said.
One of the problems identified in the Lake Michigan service region is the amount of stormwater run-off that is not returned to the lake. Approximately 28 percent, or 888 million gallons of water per day, flows to the Mississippi River via the Chicago River, rather than being returned to Lake Michigan. The Regional Water Supply Planning Group recommends the development of better stormwater management practices to ensure that Lake Michigan water remains abundantly available to the region.
The report also recommends certain groundwater-dependent communities be transitioned to Lake Michigan water to prevent the continued mining of deep bedrock aquifers.
Lenore Beyer-Clow is the policy director for Openlands, an environmental advocacy organization that is a member of the Regional Water Supply Planning Group. Beyer-Clow said the most important recommendations in the report are those that address water conservation efforts.
"I don't think we can keep using that same strategy of always going to (the) lake because there are greater restrictions and we want to keep our ecological systems in place, making sure we still have the ecological integrity of our lakes, rivers and streams," Beyer-Clow said.
Individuals can contribute to conservation efforts by retrofitting plumbing to conserve water and switching to energy-efficient appliances that use less water, Beyer-Clow said. But, she said local governments need to implement incentives to encourage widespread adoption.
She said pricing water to reward conservation and offering rebates for purchases of efficient appliances like dishwashers and washing machines could bolster regional conservation efforts. Collaboration among local governments will also be critical to effective implementation, she said.
"I think the most important thing is for local governments to recognize that they have to work with other units of government," Beyer-Clow said. "Water is a shared resource, so if one community starts doing innovative things, but if that's only done in one community, it's not going to have an impact, communities need to recognize they have a shared goal."
The Water Supply Planning Group is expected to release a final version of its report by January. At present, the report offers recommendations, but does not include any specific mandates.
"So it's up to public water suppliers to evaluate their local circumstances and evaluate which of the tools will result in the best return on investment," Loftus said.
