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Lake County is working with regional partners to address future water supply to a rapidly growing population. As the suburbs of Chicago continue to grow with new businesses and housing developments, the depletion of underground water is a growing concern. In order to begin addressing the issue with a regional approach, the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) has organized a Regional Water Supply Planning Group (RWSPG) at the direction of the State of Illinois. The group will assist the State in making recommendations on water resource policies and action plans for northeastern Illinois.
The group consists of 35 representatives from counties, municipalities, and stakeholder groups from Boone, Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Lake, McHenry and Will Counties. Bonnie Thomson Carter, Lake County Board Member and President of the Lake County Forest Preserves, has been appointed to a three-year term as the Lake County Board's representative to the RWSPG.
"It's extremely important that our region establishes an outline for planning and cooperation now, before water supplies reach a potential crisis stage," said Carter. "Continuing growth throughout the area means that regional cooperation is critical to making those decisions. By the year 2020 we will be in a crisis situation as far as the demand for water is concerned. Taking a regional approach in addressing the issue will make certain we are on the same page regionally and the public has a clear idea about what we are doing to address this critical issue and what they may need to do to help themselves."
The Regional Water Supply Planning Group will focus on the area's deep bedrock aquifer and the Fox River Basin's shallow bedrock aquifer, which supply water to homes and businesses. In addition, the group will consider the allocation of Lake Michigan water on current and potential future users.
For more information, visit the Lake County website at http://www.co.lake.il.us/planning/support/projects/projects_Water_Supply.asp
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