MWRD Executive Director supports funding for water quality research

Maintenance Committee In-Service, Thursday November 19, 2015

Steve McCracken,  Watershed Director of the DuPage River Salt Creek Workgroup, gave a presentation on water quality improvement. 37 utilities in Cook and DuPage counties make up the Workgroup. Much of the Salt Creek watershed and the DuPage River watershed is in DuPage county.

The group is concerned that while the EPA is requiring that towns limit chloride in the water, the actual water quality is not improving. The group is working to get better water quality, while using tax dollars more efficiently. This has involved getting rid of several dams on the DuPage River. They are using an Index of Bio-integrity to measure water quality. 

MWRD Executive Director David St. Pierre said that the MWRD would be contributing to this work at the level of $2 million. Because much of the land area is not actually in Cook County, the District's contribution must be limited. He deems it an important project and recommends that the MWRD support it.

Submitted by Georgia Gebhardt