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A giant step was taken to promote regional water-resource planning and management when the Northeastern Illinois Regional Water Supply Planning Group approved the "Water 2050: Northeastern Illinois Regional Water Supply Plan".  Plan implementation is the next step in improving stewardship of the region's water resources, while pursuing sustainable development. One way this can be accomplished is by increasing both communication and collaboration among the region's diverse stakeholders. As such, CMAP will (co)host a series of forums that seek to follow up on key issues highlighted in Water 2050. The water-resource forums serve to disseminate important information, facilitate discussion, and aim to point a way forward as issues of concern meet new ideas and potential strategies for solutions.   

 

Upcoming Forums:

CMAP will host a Water 2050 forum on June 9,  2011 Sustaining the Triple Bottom Line: The Full Value of Water Resources [download a PDF flyer]. This forum is presented by The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning in partnership with Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant/UI Extension and sponsored by The University of Chicago Program on Global Environment and Environment, Agriculture and Food Working Group at the University of Chicago.       

Sustaining our water resources calls for leadership in meeting financial, environmental, and social and objectives -- the triple bottom line. Incentivizing action requires solutions and tools from both the private and public sectors to account for the full value of water resources in decision making, build a water ethic, and promote change. Measurement starts with benchmarking impacts so that the impact of human activity on resources can be assessed.  Once resource impacts are measured and known, incorporating the value of water resources into decision making provides incentives to reduce those impacts. 

This forum will provide information to policymakers, sustainability managers and officers, and others on how resource impacts can be measured, valued, and incorporated into decision-making. Speakers will address valuing sustainability initiatives, water certification, water impact indexing, methods for valuing water resources, and related topics.

The event is free and open to the public, though registration is required  To RSVP for this event, email Jamie Krell at jkrell@cmap.illinois.gov or call (312) 386-8658.

June 9, 2011 - Forum materials:

Sustaining the Triple Bottom Line: The Full Value of Water Resources [PDF]

 

 

 

 

 

Past Forums:

The first forum titled "New Challenges Facing Municipal Water Suppliers was held October 22, 2010 and cohosted by CMAP and Wildman Harrold, Attorneys and Counselors. The forum was of particular interest to groundwater-dependent communities since it addressed the emerging threat of carcinogenic volatile organic compounds in community water supplies and potential consequences of  new state rules and regulations.

The second forum, held January 27, 2011, was hosted by CMAP and co-sponsored by Hey and Associates and Christopher B. Burke Engineering, Ltd.  The forum focused on regional flooding and stormwater management and provided timely information on hazard mitigation planning, potential funding sources, and the use of green infrastructure practices for stormwater management. 

On May 6, 2011 CMAP cohosted a forum, "Groundwater Protection:  Science, Planning, and Action," with the Delta Institute.  One panel of speakers addressed the state of the science as it relates to policy makers, planners, and water managers, and another panel considered lessons learned, costs, and benefits of other state programs that are designed to protect groundwater resources.  Elected officials, city managers, and public water supplier staff were encouraged to attend this free event and learn how to improve their position regarding groundwater stewardship.

Presentations from past meetings include:

October 22, 2010: New Challenges Facing Municipal Water Suppliers

January 27, 2011: The Problem with Water: Regional Flooding and Stormwater Management

May 6, 2011: Groundwater Protection:  Science, Planning, and Action

 

For more information, contact Tim Loftus of CMAP at 312-386-8666.