The District is responsible for stormwater and wastewater management, in an 883 square mile area, including Chicago and 125 suburban municipalities. It monitors and sustains 76 miles of the Chicago Area Waterways System and 1,300 small streams. Per day, its seven facilities clean an average flow of 1.5 billion gallons of wastewater. Its service population is the combined equivalent of ten million residents and industrial users. Click below for more information regarding the many District services and facilities:

Biosolids:	An EMS is a management framework for reducing environmental impacts and improving organizational performance over time.  Implementing an EMS is voluntary; therefore, the EMS framework can be adapted to support the needs, priorities, and circumstances of the implementing organization.  more
Combined Sewer Overflows:	The District has developed a public notification program for combined sewer overflows (CSOs) into the Chicago area waterways in accordance with Special Condition 10.12 of the NPDES Permits for the North Side, Stickney, and Calumet WRPs and Special Condition 14.12 of the NPDES Permits for the Kirie and Lemont WRPs. more
Compost:	Compost Now Available! more
Green Infrastructure Partnership Opportunity Program	The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) is accepting project applications for partnership funding opportunities. MWRD seeks to partner with local municipalities and public agencies to install green infrastructure (GI) throughout Cook County. Submitted applications will be evaluated based on the engineering effectiveness of the GI practices amongst several other criteria. Responsibilities of selected applicants will be defined through an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with the MWRD. The submission deadline for the application is August 9, 2019 at 5:00 PM CDT. Late or partial applications will not be accepted. more
Sidestream Elevated Pool Aeration (SEPA):	The District's Sidestream Elevated Pool Aeration (SEPA) project received the Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement Award in 1994. The award is the highest honor bestowed on a civil engineering project by the American Society of Civil Engineers. more
Stormwater Management:	The mission of the countywide stormwater management program is to provide Cook County with effective rules, regulations, and projects that will reduce the potential for stormwater damage to life, public health, safety, property and the environment. more
Tunnel and Reservoir Plan (TARP):	Despite the reversal of the Chicago River, and even the construction of the largest wastewater treatment plant in the world, contaminants continued to accumulate in the rivers, canals, and Lake Michigan. more
Water Reclamation Plants:	In 1919, the Board of Commissioners passed an ordinance committing the District to the construction and operation of sewage treatment plants to protect and preserve Lake Michigan, our source of drinking water for six million people living in Chicago, Cook County communities, and neighboring counties today. more