Landmark program will address projected water shortages and quality issues in northeastern Illinois through a comprehensive, newly funded plan
(Chicago) …State Sen.
Susan
Garrett
(D-Lake Forest) and regional and
statewide advocates for a clean, abundant water supply will mark World Environment Day
– celebrated across the globe each year on June 5 to spur political action
on environmental issues – by launching the Illinois Water Supply Initiative,
the state’s first step toward a much-needed comprehensive approach to managing
our water resources. The news conference will take place Monday, June 5, at 11
a.m., at the John G. Shedd Aquarium
on
Chicago’s Museum Campus.
“The Illinois Water Supply Initiative is groundbreaking and marks the state’s
first step toward heading off projected water shortages and quality issues
in Chicagoland and across the state,” said Sen. Garrett. “Ever-increasing
demands for water, combined with legal and physical limitations, are putting a strain
on water supplies in areas
throughout
Illinois,
including the greater
Chicago
metropolitan region. Through this
initiative, the state will create a system for managing our water resources to
ensure adequate supplies of clean water at a reasonable cost today and in the
future.”
More than $1 million in state funding for the Illinois
Water Supply Initiative was proposed by Gov. Rod Blagojevich and approved by the
Illinois General Assembly as part of the FY06 budget. The program will be
administered by the Illinois Dept. of Natural Resources. The creation of a
statewide framework for water supply planning and management was the major
recommendation of the report Troubled Waters: Meeting Future Water Needs in
Illinois, co-released in January 2006 by the Campaign for Sensible Growth,
Openlands, and Metropolitan Planning Council. For a copy of the report, visit www.metroplanning.org/uploads/cms/documents/TroubledWaters.pdf .
______________________________________________________________________________________
What:
News conference to launch the Illinois Water Supply Initiative, the
state’s first-ever comprehensive approach to protecting water for
Illinois
’ future
Who:
Steven Frenkel, Senior Policy
Development Advisor – Environment & Energy, Office of Gov. Rod Blagojevich
State Sen. Susan Garrett, ( D-Lake Forest )
Joyce O’Keefe, Deputy Director, Openlands
Scott
Goldstein, Vice President of Policy and Planning, Metropolitan Planning
Council
When:
Monday, June 5, 2006
11 to 11:30 a.m.
Where:
The event will take place at the John G. Shedd Aquarium
on
Chicago’s Museum Campus.
Media may park on the south side of the aquarium in the loading dock, and will
be directed from there to the press conference.
For more information, please contact Mandy Burrell, MPC
communications associate, at (o) 312-863-6018, (c) 773-640-1206, or mburrell@metroplanning.org; or Holly Goldin, Openlands
communications manager, at 312-427-4256 or hgoldin@openlands.org; or
State Sen. Susan Garrett at 847-433-2002 or ilsenate29@sbcglobal.net. World Environment Day is an annual
event sponsored by the United Nations to stimulate worldwide awareness of the
environment. Learn more at www.unep.org/wed/
.