WHEREAS, ago River system, including the Calumet River, is an important ecosystem that provides home to wildlife; a natural escape from urban pressure; and a corridor for fish, wildlife, and people to move through both urban and suburban neighborhoods, and
WHEREAS, Stormwater runoff and sewer overflows threaten the health of the Chicago River system; and
WHEREAS, As little as .3 inches of rainfall within the Chicago River sewershed can cause a sewer overflow, flushing harmful pollution such as untreated sewage and street debris directly into the Chicago River; and
WHEREAS, Heavy rains can also cause flooding and widespread property damage,
WHEREAS, Over the past 100 years, the annual number of extreme rain events has doubled throughout the Midwest due to climate change; and
WHEREAS, More residents than ever before are using the Chicago River system to fish, kayak, row, run, and relax, live, and dine along, making water quality a public health priority; and
WHEREAS, A clean Chicago River system depends on both individual and municipal actions; and
WHEREAS, Chicagoans can help reduce the number of sewer overflows by participating in Friends of the Chicago River's Overflow Action Days, an initiative aimed at reducing the amount of water consumed at home in order to increase water treatment capacity across the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago's water reclamation plants; therefore, be it e-rrrV
BE IT RESOLVED, that we, the Mayor and Members of the^City Council of the City of Chicago, assembled this thirteenth day of April, do hereby^Friends of the Chicago River's Overflow Action Days initiative, to promote water conservation and establish a notification system to alert residents of the risks of combined sewer overflows and prevent harmful discharge of untreated wastewater into the Chicago River system; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Friends of the Chicago River, as a statement of support for...
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