What Our Water's Worth is a campaign led by the Metropolitan Planning Council and Openlands to raise awareness about the value of water in northeastern Illinois and northwestern Indiana
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By Matt Nichols
You don’t have to be an expert in stormwater management to make improvements that can help prevent flooding in your neighborhood. With assistance from a slew of project partners who have diverse expertise and missions, the City of Blue Island, Ill., in south suburban Cook County, is energizing community members to be part of an effort to reduce flooding in one city neighborhood. Known as Blue Island, Blue Water, this Illinois Millennium Reserve model project is using native gardens, rain barrels, and other green infrastructure to reduce the frequency and severity of costly sewer and basement backups, all while beautifying the neighborhood and empowering local residents.
Conservation Tips
- Cook County residents are eligible to purchase discounted rain barrels from the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD).
- For information about how to install and maintain a rain barrel at your home, check out this helpful video and this guide from MWRD.
- Planting a native garden can help with stormwater management at home, while beautifying your property at a reasonable cost and without the need for chemicals. Nancy Pollard recommends browsing this list of plants suitable for the Chicago region, then creating a design on paper. Use small flags or stakes to mark out the garden design before digging.
October 2012
www.chicagolandh2o.org
Upcoming events
| Nov 27 | MPC and Openlands Roundtable - Neighborhood Solutions to Wetter Weather: Local Approaches for Stormwater Management 12:00 PM–1:30 PM |
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WOWW Factors
- During a one-inch rainstorm, 600 gallons of water fall on a 1,000 square foot roof. With two rain barrels each at four downspouts, you can keep more than 60% of that water out of overflowing sewers and capture it to water your lawn or garden later for free.
- If you and your neighbors commit to install 100 rain barrels on your block, that would capture as much water as a tanker truck – water that’s kept away from building foundations, basements, and backed-up sewers.
What Our Water's Worth is a monthly e-newsletter. Tell us what you think. Email info@chicagolandh2o.org with feedback in the subject.
To subscribe, visit our website at chicagolandh2o.org.
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Metropolitan Planning Council
140 S Dearborn St | Suite 1400 | Chicago, IL 60603 Phone (312) 922-5616 phone | Fax (312) 922-5619 |
Openlands
25 E. Washington St. | Suite 1650 | Chicago, IL 60602 Phone: 312-863-6250 | Fax 312-427-6251 |
Copyright © 2012. All rights reserved. | info@chicagolandh2o.org
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