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The MWRD has partnered with Friends of the Chicago River to promote Overflow Action Days to invite the public to minimize the amount of water that goes into the sewer system, especially during storms. Take the Overflow Action Days pledge! Marketing Materials Overflow Action Days in the News 2017 "Water Conservation Urged to Keep Chicago River from Overflowing," North Loop News “Campaign Will Ask Chicagoans To Cut Water Use
On ‘Overflow Action Days,’” CBS 2 Chicago, WBBM “Friends of the Chicago River declare April
"Overflow Action Month," ABC 7 Chicago “Overflow Action Month Offers Daily Tips To
Conserve Water, Protect Chicago River,” Water Online “April is Overflow Action Month: consumers
urged to conserve water,” CBS 2 Chicago, WBBM
Overflow Action Month offers daily tips to conserve water, protect Chicago River
April Overflow Action Month to Help the Chicago River
MWRD partners with Friends of Chicago River to promote “Overflow Action Days” 2016 “MWRD Pilot Project Supports Overflow Action Days,” Friends of the Chicago River “Monday Letters: How you can help reduce sewage backups,” Chicago Sun-Times “Opinion: Delaying a Bath or Shower Can Make River Cleaner,” Chicago Sun-Times People
are familiar with Ozone Action Days—times when ozone levels are high and
people should be cautious. They should also make themselves familiar
with Overflow Action Days. Overflow Action Days are days when the
Chicago area has been hit with so much rain that people really should
conserve water at home until the local sewer system has a chance to
catch up with all the extra water. Overflow Action Days are important
because if people don’t conserve water at home, our sewers back up and
untreated sewage is released into Chicago area waterways, including the
Chicago River and Lake Michigan. While there has been dramatic
improvement in the cleanliness of the Chicago River, it still faces
daunting challenges, including the impact of combined sewer overflows.
These overflows force untreated human and industrial waste, toxic
materials and debris into the river, which exacerbates water pollution
problems, makes people ill, and even kills fish and other wildlife. When
we built our sewer system more than 150 years ago, we mistakenly
believed we could build enough pipes to hold all of our wastewater and
rainfall. But as the Chicago region developed and our climate changed,
the system has become permanently overwhelmed, causing consistent
overflows into the Chicago River. In 2015 alone, there were 41 combined
sewer overflows within the Chicago Area Waterways System. And research
from the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago
revealed that as little as 0.3 inches of rain can trigger an overflow at
one of the 300 outfalls that flow directly into the Chicago River and
the Little Calumet River. With data showing that 100-year storms are
happening every few years with harder, more concentrated rain, we are
seeing more overflows than ever. The data couldn’t be clearer: we must
step in to help clean up our river. Friends of the Chicago River has set
a great example with its new partnership, Overflow Action Days, which,
like Ozone Action Days, serve as a public reminder to reduce water use
before, during and after heavy rains. Working with local elected
officials, the MWRD and nonprofit partners like the Shedd Aquarium,
Friends of the Chicago River encourages simple, everyday actions on
Overflow Action Days, such as reducing shower times, flushing less and
waiting to run the dishwasher. These actions reduce the amount of water
added to the sewer system when it rains. Also recommended are reducing
our water footprints outside the house. Employing rain barrels,
disconnecting downspouts, and installing permeable paving can retain
hundreds more gallons of water onsite. And choosing to plant native
plants over non-native plants allows their roots to infiltrate deeper
into the soil, absorbing additional water while providing ancillary
habitat benefits. In the United States, an average household uses 400
gallons of fresh water per day. From a global perspective, this is
shocking because fresh water only makes up 2.5 percent of our water
resources. In the Chicago area, we can do better; by incorporating some
of these easy efforts into our daily routine, collectively we can save
tens of millions of gallons of water across the region every time it
rains. working together to meet this goal, it is possible that one day
we might be able to swim in the river.
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