Title/Name/Summary
DUE TO SPACING ISSUES PLEASE PRINT RESOLTUION FROM ATTACHMENTS
Resolution for Water Use Conservation for the Lake Michigan Water Communities of the Chicago Southland
Body
Whereas, the Great Lakes basin is a unified natural resource and ecosystem servicing multiple states and provinces; and
Whereas, the legal framework for allocating Lake Michigan water in northeastern Illinois is established by various international, federal and state treaties and laws that control the diversion of Great Lakes water; and
Whereas, Lake Michigan is our region’s most important water supply resource, supplying two-thirds of the municipalities and over 80% of the population within the northeastern Illinois region; and
Whereas, the 1980 Supreme Court of the United States consent decree in Wisconsin v. Illinois mandated a 3,200 cubic foot per second (cfs) diversion limit of Lake Michigan water for the State of Illinois and the Chicago Metropolitan region; and
Whereas, the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning’s Water 2050 Northeastern Illinois Regional Water Supply/Demand Plan (2010) determined that without effective resource management, water demand could increase as much as 64% by 2050 that would necessarily exceed the Supreme Court diversion mandate; and
Whereas, the Level of Lake Michigan Act mandated all users of Lake Michigan water possess a valid allocation permit from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources; and
Whereas, the IDNR gives highest priority to communities where Lake Michigan water is the most economical water source for its customers; and
Whereas, this and other suburban communities obtain Lake Michigan water from the City of Chicago as the most economical potable water source; and
Whereas, the City of Chicago increased the water rates 25% in 2012 with 15% increases planned for the following three years to help cover the cost of the city’s aging water and capacity-restricted infrastructure; and
Whereas, this and other suburban co...
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