Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago

MWRD, North Riverside to host ribbon-cutting ceremony July 15 at 11 a.m. The Village of North Riverside and the MWRD will cut the ribbon on green parking lots at the Village Commons on July 15 at 11 a.m. at 2401 S. Des Plaines Ave., North Riverside. Six asphalt parking lots were converted into permeable pavement. The pavement is designed to capture up to 539,000 gallons of water, diverting it from combined local sewers to mitigate flooding, basement backups and improve area water quality. One of 10 projects the District selected in 2022 through our Green Infrastructure Partnership Program, the District contributed $1.28 million toward the $1.53 million in improvements. The 71,000 square feet of parking spaces accounts for roughly 17 percent of the Village Commons area. 📰 https://lnkd.in/d-RqEppj #MWRD #CookCounty #NorthRiverside #NorthRiversideIL #StormwaterManagement #GreenInfrastructure The MWRD partners with municipalities to build green infrastructure throughout the Chicago region. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/dx8wcDPv

🎨🖌️🖼️We are also at the Austin Art and Community Celebration today until 5 PM! Bring the kids for fun activities and visit the petting zoo🐐 ☀️5900- 5930 W West End Blvd, Chicago

🦋🎈☀️Join us at the Forest Preserves of Cook County Kids’ Fest at Wampum Lake today! We are here until 3 pm, so come out and enjoy the beautiful weather and fun activities. 🐟 Don’t miss out on this great opportunity to connect with the community and learn more about how we are working to protect and preserve our water resources. See you there! #MWRD #CookCountyForestPreserves #WampumLake #CommunityEvent #ProtectOurWater

Historical Photo of the Day: A view looking southwest at the Linden Avenue bridge over the North Shore Channel in the Village of Wilmette showing work on the bridge struts on August 29, 1910, three months before channel construction was complete. Learn about the history and operations of the #MWRD 📽⬇️ https://lnkd.in/ds-riud5 🏗💧💩🧪🧫🔬🌊🌞

We're #hiring a new Deputy Director of Monitoring & Research in Greater Chicago Area. Apply today or share this post with your network.

📣 We are accepting applications for “Deputy Director of Monitoring & Research” until July 26, 2024. Duties: Under general and limited direction, assists as second in charge of the Monitoring & Research (M&R) Department. Provides oversight and management of the day-to-day administrative business flow of the M&R Department. Partners with the Assistant Directors to coordinate and manage high-priority projects and initiatives that require interdivisional cooperation and collaboration. Review job specifications and apply ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/eu-NC9F Learn more about MWRD careers ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/gX3yWjFu #mwrd #careers #jobs #employment #JoinOurTeam #CookCounty

Historical Photo of the Day: Excavation for the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal near Romeoville on September 11, 1894. Travel back in time to early Chicago to see how we reversed the Chicago River and developed wastewater treatment technology on our next virtual tour July 17 at 2 p.m. ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/gndBmh5n 🏗💧💩🧪🧫🔬🌊🌞

📣ICYMI from the Daily Southtown: Long owned by the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, administrator of the adjacent Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal that reversed the Chicago River at the turn of the 20th Century, the land, now called Lockport Prairie Nature Preserve, was acquired by the Forest Preserve District of Will County in 2015. And May 31, county, state and federal officials gathered at the site to cut a ceremonial ribbon for Lockport Prairie and nearby Prairie Bluff preserves, where the 6-year, $8.3 million “major ecosystem restoration project” had just wrapped up, marking the completion of a plan that had been in discussions since the 1990s. The Army Corps of Engineers invested $5.5 million in federal aquatic ecosystem restoration funds, while the Forest Preserve District contributed $2.8 million in land value, according to a Will County news release. That money went toward removal of invasive species and restoration of natural underground flow processes from Prairie Bluff down to Lockport Prairie, home to two plant species and a dragonfly listed as federally endangered, as well as several others deemed rare and at risk. “There are only a few places in the world where these plants live, and it turns out Lockport Prairie is one of those places,” said Julianne Mason, a botanist and project manager with the Forest Preserve District of Will County. “It’s kind of mind-blowing to me because I work there. Walking around, I’m stepping on things most people on this planet have never had the opportunity to even see.” Lockport Prairie’s position along a major transportation route also creates another occasionally startling scene. “Sometimes you can see barges going by 20 feet up,” Mason said, pointing toward the walls of the Sanitary and Ship Canal beyond the preserve’s eastern edge. “It’s really bizarre. The canal runs really high because of the lock and dam system.” 📰 https://lnkd.in/dy7hhiQx #MWRD #CookCounty #WillCounty #Lockport #USACE Daily Southtown

Historical Photo of the Day: The nearly complete North Branch Pumping Station on the North Branch of the Chicago River near Lawrence Avenue in Chicago, viewed to the northeast from across the river on October 26, 1929. Join our next virtual tour on Wednesday, July 17, at 2 p.m. to learn how the #MWRD protects public health and safety by treating #wastewater and managing #stormwater for Chicago and 128 suburban communities ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/gndBmh5n 🏗💧💩🧪🧫🔬🌊🌞

Entering a fourth year of a groundbreaking and ambitious Strategic Plan, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) is striving to meet new goals and share them with the public it serves. The MWRD has developed a revamped and interactive dashboard for its 2021-2025 Strategic Plan that can be accessed at https://lnkd.in/dkViD8Cq. The new dashboard enhances user experience with updated data and visuals to track MWRD progress across the Strategic Plan’s five goals, including: resource management, stormwater management, workforce excellence, community engagement and enterprise resilience. Here, visitors to the MWRD website can learn about the water the MWRD releases back into the environment after converting it from wastewater, how the MWRD is expanding its presence throughout the county to mitigate flooding, the demographics of its workforce, how the MWRD is meeting new audiences in its community engagement goals following a pandemic, and how the MWRD sustains strong financial stewardship. “The new dashboard monitors our progress in meeting measurable outcomes outlined in our Strategic Plan, while giving users an inside look at the important work of the MWRD,” said MWRD President Kari K. Steele. “We are striving to meet new goals while presenting them in a transparent manner for our taxpayers who entrust us with the major task of protecting our region’s water environment.” Since the plan was adopted on June 3, 2021, the MWRD has been working to reach many new, exciting, and challenging goals built out of as many as 30 strategies, 50 success measures, 140 initiatives and 360 activities. While the dashboard does not highlight every activity, it gives audiences a firm grasp of ongoing work at the MWRD and its aspiration to meet its Strategic Plan initiatives. “The Strategic Plan presents us with a blueprint to follow as we address water management and resource recovery through innovative, equitable and sustainable measures,” said MWRD Chairman of Finance Marcelino Garcia. Read the complete press release: https://lnkd.in/dR99EDuB #MWRD #CookCounty #WastewaterTreatment #StormwaterManagement