Comments Accepted Through March 31, 2017 On MWRD's Watershed Management Ordinance

Changes are being proposed to a Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) ordinance that works to abate the negative impacts of stormwater runoff as a result of new development or redevelopment. Public comments on the proposed amendments to the MWRD's Watershed Management Ordinance (WMO) are now being accepted through March 31, 2017.

The WMO regulates sewer construction within MWRD's service area and development within suburban Cook County. It provides uniform stormwater management regulations to prevent future com­mercial, municipal, and residential development and redevelopment projects from exacerbating flooding and protects environmentally sensitive areas. The WMO improves stormwater drainage and detention conditions as part of new development, and ensures protection of wetlands and riparian areas and reduces soil erosion.

The WMO first went into effect in May 2014. The proposed changes will incorporate necessary improvements based on experience gained during the first few years of implementation. The changes accommodate real life situations that have occurred under the current WMO, while other changes have come as a result of considering valuable feedback provided by stakeholders, including outside agencies, engineers and municipalities. Some changes align the ordinance language with MWRD administrative procedures, and other changes are purely clerical.

Paved roads, parking lots, walkways and buildings make cities livable, but they also reduce the amount of land on which water can be absorbed, and these improvements can fill and impact the floodplain. If communities grow without careful and thorough stormwater planning, sewer systems and local waterways can become overwhelmed, polluted, and may contribute to community wide flooding.

To learn more about the WMO, visit wmo.mwrd.org. To submit a comment on the proposed changes, please email WMOComments@mwrd.org or send by mail to: Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, Local Sewer Systems Section, 111 East Erie St., Chicago, IL 60611.

The MWRD plans to present these changes at Watershed Planning Council public meetings throughout the first quarter of 2017. For a complete schedule of meetings, visit wmo.mwrd.org.

After compiling public comments, MWRD staff will propose final changes to the WMO before the MWRD Board of Commissioners in spring 2017.

About the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago
Established in 1889, the MWRD is an award-winning, special purpose government agency responsible for wastewater treatment and stormwater management in Cook County, Illinois. For more information, visit www.mwrd.org.