Today is World Water Day.
World Water Day is a global day of awareness on the importance of water. Here in Illinois, we’re fortunate to have the world’s largest source of surface freshwater in the world right in our backyard. But pollution, invasive species and clean water policy rollbacks by the Trump Administration are threatening the health and longevity of this vital water source.
We’re also seeing groundwater sources being depleted, intense rain events that can’t be handled by our failing water infrastructure and degraded waterways that desperately need restoration and protection from additional pollution.
We’ve seen where expensive manmade solutions to these problems fall short. That’s why we’re all about this year’s theme for World Water Day, ‘Nature for Water’ – exploring nature-based solutions to the water challenges we face in the 21st century.
Our volunteer Chicago Water Team is celebrating this global day of awareness by accompanying a group of 7th and 8th grade science students on a tour of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District’s (MWRD) Terrence J. O’Brien Wastewater Treatment Plant, which uses nature-based solutions to treat Chicago’s wastewater such as UV disinfection and a revolving algal biofilm (RAB) system to remove nutrients.
We’re also participating in a ‘State of Our Water’ Symposium, organized by the Illinois Environmental Council at the University of Illinois at Chicago. The event will give the audience an overview of the most critical issues facing water in Illinois, including the progress being made implementing the state’s Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy. Our Clean Water Program Director, Cindy Skrukrud, will speak about the importance of getting involved in local watershed efforts and how citizens can help clean up urban waterways by employing nature-based solutions on their own properties. We have volunteers across the state working together to protect and restore their local waterways. If you’d like to get involved in our efforts, check out our website and then get in touch!
In Alton, our Piasa Palisades Group is celebrating by hosting a 5-mile litter clean-up along the Great River Road. Volunteers will kick off their clean-up at three different starting points with morning and afternoon shifts, and are bound to make a big impact on the state of the Mississippi River shoreline in their community!
While we love celebrating clean water on this special day and are proud to stand with others across the globe bringing awareness to the importance of water, we also want to continue the conversation — and more importantly, the ACTION — for clean water every day. We’ll continue to advocate for common sense policies and investment in infrastructure to protect our water at the local, state and federal level. We’ll stand up against dangerous attempts by the Trump Administration to rollback protections, cut budgets and eliminate programs that are needed to keep our water clean and ecosystems healthy. We hope you’ll stand with us and join us in this fight.
Illinois Sierra Club Blog 