Chicago-area Asked to Use Less Water Amidst Severe Weather

This week, Chicago-area residents were asked to use less water to prevent overflowing of storm water management systems in the region. The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) issued an “Overflow Action Day” alert on June 24 that coincided with the forecast for several rounds of strong-to-severe storms anticipated to produce heavy rain throughout Chicagoland, NBC 5 Chicago reported. These warnings followed devasting flooding and severe weather throughout the Midwest this June.

In most of the Chicago area, rainwater flows through the same pipes as water that goes down the drain in homes. When too much water enters sewers too quickly, the sewers can back up into streets and basements, MWRD cautioned. Additionally, extra water in sewers can cause them to overflow into the river in some cases.

In turn, MWRD asked residents to conserve water by:

• Delaying or reducing shower times.
• Flushing less frequently.
• Putting off running the dishwasher.
• Waiting to wash clothes in the laundry.
• Replacing old and leaky faucets, toilets, and showerheads with new products approved by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’ (EPA) WaterSense.

This month, the EPA reported WaterSense-labeled products helped to save 1.2 trillion gallons of water last year, as CMM previously reported.