Assisting Illinois Rural Communities with Water and Broadband Two-For-One
July 10, 2020
Rural communities often have difficulty accessing the same services as suburban and urban communities. Accessibility to broadband services and clean drinking water are among the greatest concerns for these areas. To combat the issue of access, Illinois nonprofit and water utility EJ Water Cooperative joined Illinois Fiber Connect for a first-of-its-kind initiative that runs fiber......
February 16, 2017
It’s no accident that the City of Chicago’s department responsible for treating wastewater has “reclamation” in the title. The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago is responsible for serving over 10 million people in a growing region, and they have turned to new approaches for managing essential water supplies, including capturing and reusing stormwater.......
February 16, 2017
Altogether, the 140 harbors and channels that comprise the Great Lakes are the fourth largest economic zone in North America. The Great Lakes are also the largest freshwater system in the world. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) has the responsibility to operate and maintain these harbors and channels, but turned to a P3......
Public-Private Partnerships Strengthen Inland Waterways
February 16, 2017
This proposed project would require the significant rehabilitation of eight locks with capital costs expected to run between $500 million and $750 million, as well as possible expansion of several locks. A regional authority (the Midwest Waterways Authority) has been established in Illinois to run the project that could eventually involve the neighboring states. The......
Plan to Work Together and Save
February 16, 2017
The Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) Project Coordination Office was started to prevent doing the same work twice. Traditionally, CDOT and Chicago’s Department of Water Management would coordinate work, but this new division went to the next level by working with private utilities including Peoples’ Gas and Commonwealth Edison. By coordinating the work of City......
February 16, 2017
Plagued by chronic flooding, the town of Midlothian, Illinois lacks the financial resources necessary to provide comprehensive flood protection and mitigation. The Chicago-based Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT) stepped in to develop a multi-pronged flood plan called RainReady Midlothian, with additional help from partners including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Metropolitan Water......
