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Looking at a map of Illinois defined by Lake Michigan and the Mississippi and Ohio rivers, you would never think that the state is in the midst of a water crisis.
The megadrought in the West seems far from our reality, and schemes (which should be opposed) still pop up to siphon Great Lakes water westward. But we do have an in-state water crisis that is largely concealed from view. This invisibility results from the fact that the crisis lurks underground in the collapsing Cambrian-Ordovician aquifer beneath Will, Kendall, Kane, McHenry and Lake counties. The Illinois State Water Survey that monitors groundwater has sounded the alarm about a tapped water source beneath the feet of the state’s fastest-growing communities.
Water pumped from the aquifer allowed for industrial, economic and population growth in northeastern Illinois. Suburban homes with sprawling lawns and networked roads have depended upon its supply. This water from the rock made our world. Now not enough remains to sustain it: Levels in these vital aquifers have been drawn down more than 800 feet. Often, groundwater can be replenished when precipitation permeates the ground in a process called recharge. But due to carbonate and shale bedrock that doesn’t allow water to pass and a fault zone that runs through the aquifer, recharge on a human time scale is impossible.
The Cambrian-Ordovician aquifer has reached the end of its viability. What are northeastern Illinois communities to do? The city of Joliet, the epicenter of the aquifer emergency, formed a consortium of neighboring municipalities and struck a deal with Chicago to receive treated Lake Michigan drinking water by pipeline no later than 2030. While this is a solid solution that strengthens positive regional interdependencies, it should be amended to accommodate all communities affected by aquifer collapse, as well as a future in which Illinois will need to absorb climate migrants and pick up industrial and agricultural production from other parts of the country.
A long-term strategy offers solutions for the shortcomings in the existing Chicago-Joliet water deal. The first problem is what will happen when communities beyond Joliet can no longer rely on the aquifer. The State Water Survey found that, even when accounting for Joliet’s switching off groundwater supply, increases in demand from other municipalities will counteract this relief. The only uncertainty is how soon other Illinois communities will be forced off the aquifer.
No doubt, they will also request Lake Michigan water. But, in ecological and legal terms, the Lake Michigan supply is not limitless. The U.S. Supreme Court mandates the Illinois diversion from the lake at a 40-year average of 2.1 billion gallons a day, or 3,200 cubic feet per second. If Joliet and members of its consortium hit the upper end of the limit promised in the Chicago deal, then the Illinois diversion limit will be met and other communities could be left high and dry.
The second problem is that the Joliet area has a substantial industrial footprint. As it stands, the water deal will provide heavy industrial users with precious drinking water that they do not need. Taking the long view reveals a scenario in which refineries receive drinking water while Illinois households have nowhere to turn.
Both of these shortcomings can be avoided through the feasible, win-win solution of water reuse. Our research at the University of Illinois at Chicago proposes a dual-pipeline system in which households, health care and small businesses receive Lake Michigan drinking water, and heavy industries receive recycled water from reclamation plants. This would have the advantage of expanding the overall water supply so that enough remains for domestic use and economic growth.
Chicago Tribune Opinion
Currently, Cook County discharges viable treated water into the Sanitary and Ship Canal where it flows to the Gulf of Mexico. Rather than flushing billions of gallons of Great Lakes water through the canal, the water could be reused to support industrial needs in Illinois. Enlarging the water pie in this manner would increase the overall availability of Lake Michigan drinking water and thereby accommodate population and economic growth.
Recycling and transferring Cook County’s treated wastewater for industrial uses would enable Illinois to remain within its diversion limit while expanding its overall water supply. Amid mounting 21st century water crises, we need to bring this water to productive use.
Providing recycled water to industry in the near term would not only ensure economic growth but also would create revenue — whereas, currently, we pay to move waste. It’s a solution that has been proved in Los Angeles, where refineries have relied on recycled water since 1995. We propose that the dual-pipeline system be adopted for every new community joining the Lake Michigan supply.
Our water recycling and dual-pipeline solutions would generate revenue, sustain industry, prevent downstream flooding, preserve Lake Michigan water for human health and sanitation, protect ecosystems, and prevent suburban and exurban communities from the destabilization of water source loss.
By developing adaptive infrastructure now, Illinois could become an oasis in the center of the country.
Rachel Havrelock directs the Freshwater Lab at the University of Illinois at Chicago where she is a professor. The full water recycling report is available at www.freshwaterlab.org/from-waste-to-water.
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