Lessons the Heartland is learning this summer.
Climate change is not just something to read about on Google news.
Up To 9 Inches Of Rain Floods Chicago Metro Area
July 4, 2023
Heavy rainfall caused flooding across the Chicago metro area Sunday. Cars were submerged and basements were flooded. Officials are using all means necessary to alleviate the waters, including reversing the flow of the Chicago River and asking residents to limit water usage to allow more room in the wastewater system.
Associated Press:
Heavy rains that flooded Chicago neighborhoods, rendered freeways impassable and wreaked havoc on NASCAR street races downtown Sunday are serving as stark reminders of urban centers’ vulnerability during extreme weather events.–
With projections calling for more frequent and powerful storms as climate change continues, cities like Chicago will have to look for new ways to mitigate flooding, said Max Berkelhammer, an associate professor in earth and environmental sciences at the University of Illinois-Chicago.
“That’s really where the challenges are,” Berkelhammer said. “You can build a lot of infrastructure but in a city like Chicago, in a storm like yesterday, you have to find a place for (the run-off) to go.”
Sunday’s flooding was caused by a storm system that stalled over the northeastern corner of Illinois. Instead of moving east over Lake Michigan, the storm pinwheeled around Chicago, dumping as much as 9 inches (23 centimeters) of rain in some areas over the course of Sunday afternoon.
Ed Staudacher, assistant director of maintenance and operations for the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, said so much run-off flowed into the city’s sewer system that it filled one of the city’s three reservoirs with almost 5 billion gallons of water.
The Chicago River rose six feet (2 meters) during the storm, forcing workers to close a series of locks and reverse the river’s flow from west to east into Lake Michigan to prevent more flooding, he said. The mayor issued a statement asking people to refrain from taking showers and washing dishes to prevent even more run-off from filling the sewers.
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Meanwhile, in one Northwest Chicago Suburb, a long term drought has caused a breakdown in the local water system.
Village of Hawthorne Woods, Illinois:
July 2, 2023
The Village of Hawthorn Woods is in receipt of the following updated message regarding Aqua Illinois water system. This is for Aqua Illinois water customers only.
“Due to the severe drought facing our region, Aqua Illinois is addressing low pressure and water outages in the Hawthorn Woods, Kildeer and the Lake County Public Works systems. As a result we have issued a precautionary boil water advisory, asking all customers to use bottled water or to boil all water for consumption.
Our operations team is working diligently to increase water pressure and supply to fully restore service as quickly as possible, including the use of booster pumps in our reservoir. To help speed up service restoration and to end the boil water advisory, it is essential that customers conserve as much water as possible.
In addition to our conservation notices and recommended irrigation schedules sent throughout the month of June, we’re asking customers to discontinue all non-essential water use. This includes eliminating all outdoor water usage, taking shorter showers, minimizing the use of washers and dishwashers and not letting the water run while shaving or brushing teeth.
We apologize for the inconvenience over the holiday weekend, and we thank our customer for helping to conserve water in support of our efforts – every drop counts.”
If you have any questions, please call Aqua Illinois at (877) 987-2782.
Below, from 12 days ago, story profiles watering restrictions due to a long period of drought and heat in across Northern Illinois.