In the News

Pioneer Press, May 8, 2008

With population projections showing another 2 million people could move in to northeastern Illinois by 2030, water conservation measures need to be enacted now to avert water shortages in the future.

That was the grim outlook presented to Lake County officials during a meeting last week hosted by the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning and State Sen. Susan Garrett, D-29th, of Lake Forest at the Lake County Division of Transportation in Libertyville.

Randy Blankenhorn, executive director of the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, said state and local officials need to be proactive to prevent severe water shortages that are already impacting other areas of the country, including Atlanta and Texas.

"As a region, we need to start talking about water conservation now," he said. "It's not an issue that we want to start talking about 10 years from now."

The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) is spearheading a three-year study, commissioned by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, of water supplies in an 11-county region that includes Lake, Cook, McHenry, Will, Boone, DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kendall and Kankakee counties. The study started in 2006 and is expected to be completed in July 2009.

Tim Loftus, environmental scientist for CMAP, said approximately 8.4 million people lived in the northeastern region in 2000, and projections estimate the population could increase to 10.6 million by 2030. The issue, Loftus said, is "how are we going to continue to supply adequate water for an additional 2 million people" within the next 20 to 30 years.

By 2050, based on recent historical trends and official forecasts, projected growth of demand for water is expected to increase by 32 percent in the region or 384 million gallons of additional water per day to meet the region's needs. Some scenarios suggest water demand could grow by as much as 59 percent or 708 million gallons a day by 2050.

Conservation will be the key to slowing the growth in demand for water, and Loftus said their study is looking at several potential recommendations for water conservation at the state and local levels.

Some possible options include conservation pricing that better reflects consumer water usage and encourages water conservation; rebate programs for consumers that purchase high-efficiency washing machines; school programs to educate students about water conservation, and a residential toilet replacement program to encourage residents to replace old toilets with low-flush water efficient toilets.

Garrett said she sponsored legislation last year that will take effect Jan. 1, 2009 requiring that new lawn irrigation systems sold in Illinois be equipped with a device that will automatically shut off those systems during periods of sufficient moisture or rainfall.

Garrett said she believes the study needs to look at all users of water and not just residential consumers. She noted the state's nuclear power plants are one of the largest users of water in Illinois, even though most of the water they use is recycled and returned to the environment.

"We're asking for accountability from everybody else," she said. "We need to also ask for accountability from the power plants.