Water supply
Even where water appears plentiful, such as the southern Lake Michigan region, planning ahead is necessary to ensure adequate and reliable supplies of clean water for all users at reasonable cost into the future. Regional water supply planning includes an increase in communication, coordination, and decision making among all entities served by each major aquifer and watershed. It is an attempt to bring to Illinois and Indiana a shared collective responsibility for the long-term sustainability of water supplies.
Improved water supply planning can reduce conflicts, increase preparedness for droughts and possible climate change, lead to joint considerations of surface waters and groundwater, increase the level of awareness of water as a commodity, and increase the level of cooperation among analysts and decision makers. Meeting the goal of providing adequate supplies of clean water at reasonable cost will enhance economic development, environmental protection, and public health.
Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant and University of Illinois Extension, in partnership with the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, are providing technical expertise to assist with regional water supply planning, including an analysis of the economic value of regional water supply planning and the cost-effectiveness of water conservation strategies and an evaluation of optimal price structures. The Northwest Indiana Regional Planning Agency has developed a Water Resources Protection and Conservation Toolkit and intends to initiate its own regional water supply planning process within the next few years.
News
- The HELM: Strategies for water conservation: Is the price right?
- The HELM: Wingspread Accords expands its reach
- IISG Wins Water Resource Education and Public Service Award
- Tri-State Accord Agencies Face Water Shortage
- The HELM: Consortium to Plan for Tri-State Water Supply
Initiatives
Water for Life
The great natural resource challenges of the age demand an interdisciplinary scientific approach in which the scholarship and skills of many are integrated into sustainable solutions. The goal of this University of Illinois course is to integrate graduate students from diverse academic backgrounds around a focus on the toxicological aspects of water quantity, quality, and novel technologies required to address the challenges of the 21st century.
Wingspread Accord
This historic agreement brings together planning agencies around Lake Michigan in Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and (recent addition) Michigan to work together across state lines to consider major environmental and economic issues.
Valuing Regional Water Supply Planning and Conservation Alternatives
An economic valuation of both regional water supply planning and the resulting conservation recommendations will enable better decision making as implementation of the region’s water supply plan goes forward.
Water Rates
Because conservation pricing is among the most effective best management practices, the Northeast Illinois Regional Water Supply Planning Group recommends that communities and utilities review water rate schedules and potential modifications of rate structures to encourage water conservation.
Research
Water Supply Planning Modeling Tool for Local Governments
Jesse Elam, Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning
Products
Water Rates and Rate Structure in Northeastern Illinois (PowerPoint)
Web Links
Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning Regional Water Supply Study
Illinois Water Supply Planning – Illinois State Water Survey
Northwest Indiana Regional Planning Commission Water Resources Protection and Conservation Toolkit
Purdue Water Community
