For Immediate Use
February 14, 2005
Press Contact: Tom Garritano (tgarritano at nipc.org, 312-454-0400)
Regional Conference Addresses Lake Michigan Water
Supply
Organizers say growing communities require careful planning
to ensure availability of water
CHICAGO -- Local and regional planners will gather this
week in Chicago to exchange views about managing water supplies around
Lake Michigan. The conference, called "Straddling the Divide," is
intended to foster dialogue between engineers, planners, scientists,
politicians, and other stakeholders who have a common interest in
maintaining the availability of water for the region's communities.
Organized by the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission (NIPC) and the
Illinois State Water Survey, the event will feature over 20 invited
talks, including a keynote by Illinois lieutenant governor Pat Quinn. The
conference will be held February 15-16, 2005 at Chicago's Holiday
Inn-Merchandise Mart. See
http://www.nipc.org/environment/slmrwsc/conferences/ for details.
"Population around Lake Michigan is expected to grow 20 percent by the
year 2030, increasing pressure on finite water supplies," said Judy Beck,
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) manager for Lake Michigan.
"The lake itself relies on groundwater for 79 percent of its volume,
which is the highest rate among the Great Lakes. The EPA's 2004
management plan for Lake Michigan was a significant milestone,
representing agreement on the issue's importance by four states, ten
Indian tribes and six federal agencies. Straddling the Divide will
address a critical need by convening stakeholders from all around the
Lake Michigan basin to discuss the sustainable use of this globally
significant resource."
Groundwater exists beneath the earth's surface, often between saturated
soil and rock. Surface water is above ground, as with a stream, river or
lake. Because depletion of groundwater could affect Lake Michigan itself,
even communities with access to the lake have a vested interest in
careful planning of how groundwater is used.
According to census-based forecasts, future growth in areas of Wisconsin,
Illinois and Indiana along Lake Michigan will follow patterns that
present distinct challenges for planners in the three-state region. In
southeastern Wisconsin, the trend is growth to the west of the built-up
land ringing the lake. In northeastern Illinois, population is increasing
most rapidly in the farthest suburbs of Chicago. And in northwestern
Indiana, the most growth is happening far south of the industrialized
strip along the lake. Population and land development are increasing
where Lake Michigan water is not available, which heightens the need for
careful planning to sustain groundwater and meet future demand.
NIPC director of planning Sam Santell will give a talk that describes
these trends, contrasting growth patterns with the availability of known
water supplies. "While our region faces urgent water supply issues, we
have an opportunity to address them now rather than wait for a bigger
crisis," Santell said. "This will require cooperation at the municipal,
county, regional and interstate levels."
Because the volume of water that the State of Illinois can divert from
Lake Michigan is limited by a Supreme Court decree, that amount will
remain fixed even as the demand for water increases. Communities that
expand without Lake Michigan water allocations will put increasing
pressure on other sources of water. On a regional basis, inland surface
waters such as the Fox River are relatively meager sources of water that
leave groundwater as the most likely supply source for large parts of the
region.
"The Illinois State Water Planning Task Force has placed northeastern
Illinois at the top of the state's Priority Water Quantity Planning
Areas," said Derek Winstanley, chief of the Illinois State Water Survey.
"Significant work is needed to better understand the groundwater
resources that will have to be tapped to supply drinking water to much of
the region."
NIPC leads the Southern Lake Michigan Regional Water Supply Consortium
(http://www.nipc.org/environment/slmrwsc/) to address these issues
collaboratively across southeastern Wisconsin and northwestern Indiana.
The consortium includes agencies, communities and interested parties that
collaborate to identify the needs for regional water supply planning. In
addition to maintaining a web clearinghouse of information on Lake
Michigan and water supply sources, the consortium facilitates regional
water supply planning by providing a forum for planners, scientists and
water supply providers to exchange ideas and stay up-to-date on the
latest news.
--END--
About NIPC
NIPC was created in 1957 by the Illinois General Assembly as the region’s
comprehensive land-use planning agency. The legislation authorizes NIPC
to conduct research for planning -- including official forecasts of
population, employment, and other socio-economic indicators -- to advise
units of local government on their plans and policies, and to provide
general comprehensive plans and policies for use by local governments.
NIPC's role was reaffirmed in 2000 by an Interagency Agreement with the
Chicago Area Transportation Study (CATS), the Regional Transit Authority
(RTA), and the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT). The
agreement stipulates that NIPC's plans and data are the basis for the
Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) that guides critical decisions and
investments of federal transportation funding. For more, see http://www.nipc.org.
