Conscious Choice: Help Conserve Chicago’s Water Resources

Photo: James Peterson

Choice 3

Through the Years

Baby Boomers
The Dharma Bums. Jack Kerouac’s lesser known Beat Generation masterpiece grapples with the duality of contemporary society — the natural versus the urban, the organic versus the manufactured, the material versus the spiritual. The Dharma Bums foreshadows the consciousness-probing works of several authors in the 1960s and was the first of its type to reflect the lifestyles of what would later grow into the West Coast counterculture: the free-wheeling, tuned-in bodhisattvas of the Bay.

Generation X
Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture. Douglas Coupland’s 1991 novel was all too real to the small generation wedged between the Baby Boomers and their children, characterized by people who “wanted to hop off the merry-go-round of status, money and social climbing that so often frames modern existence.” The book’s presentation reflects the pop culture that shaped GenXers with the storyline besides cartoons, slogans and neologisms used to describe the lives of Generation X members.

Generation Y
The Harry Potter series . As Wikipedia states, “Many critics point to the fact that Gen Y lacks any consistent literary figure that represents the generation, as all previous generations seem to have had. The only notable exception may be the Harry Potter series.” With Gen Y being the first American generation to really break with the literary tradition, standards have taken a serious leap backwards (in other words, Harry Potter is not really “literature”). But hey, what does it matter when you sell 350 million books, right?

— charles shaw

July 2007 | From the Commish

Help Conserve Chicago’s Water Resources

by Sadhu A. Johnston

Dear Commish: To say that Chicago can be hot and muggy in July is an understatement. Regarding water conservation, what can Chicagoans do to make a difference if the region were to experience a drought similar to a couple of summers ago?

Dear Hot in July: Last month’s column dealt with the Chicago Environmental Pledge and Mayor Daley’s push to have every Chicagoan take a look at five different areas where some simple steps that individual residents implement can have a powerful collective impact on our environment. One of the areas addressed in the pledge is water conservation. In 2003, Mayor Daley launched the City’s Water Agenda which is intended to set an example by taking a series of actions to conserve, protect and manage the City’s water resources. Some of the initiatives include replacing 50 miles of water main a year and continuing to install water-saving plumbing in City buildings and Park District pools.

One of the most successful programs to flow from the Mayor’s water agenda is the City’s rain barrel program. Nearly 2,000 discounted rain barrels have been sold to Chicago residents since the pilot program in 2004, and we anticipate at least 3,000 will be sold throughout this summer. I mention the rain barrels because they are a great way to utilize rain water as a resource as opposed to waste. Rain typically falls onto the roof of a home and finds its way into the sewer. The sewer then flows into the river, and during extreme storms, we can experience what is called a combined sewer overflow (CSO) event. These incidents can allow sewage and unclean run-off to flow into the river and lake. It costs the city money to treat that water and pump it back into the homes and businesses of Chicagoans.

Bathroom: Turn off the faucet while brushing your teeth or shaving. You will save hundreds of gallons of water a month. Keep your shower under five minutes. You will save up to 1,000 gallons a month. Do not use the toilet as a wastebasket. Toilet flushing uses more water than any other household use. A typical non-conserving 5.5-gallon flush toilet contaminates 13,000 gallons of fresh water per year to remove 165 gallons of body waste (or whatever you flush)! If you don’t have a low-flow toilet, displace water in the tank with two half-gallon plastic jugs filled with pebbles or water.

Kitchen: Defrost food in the refrigerator instead of under running water. Keep a container of water in the refrigerator rather than running the faucet until the water is cold. Run your dishwasher and clothes washer with full loads, instead of several partial loads. This will save thousands of gallons each month.

Outdoors: Prioritize water use in your yard. Let your grass go dormant during drought periods by refraining from watering it. It will recover when it rains and the weather is cooler. Instead, water trees using a hose placed near the tree’s base on a slow tickle. Periodically move the hose around the tree. When cleaning leaves or other debris from your driveway or sidewalk, use a broom or rake instead of water from a hose. If you must water, take special care not to water streets, walks and driveways. Water during early morning or evening hours to decrease evaporation and increase uptake by the soil.

Lake Michigan is viewed as a never-ending source of water, but the reality is that we have a huge impact on the lake daily and must all do our part to protect and preserve this most precious natural resource. The City will continue to explore water conservation techniques on its own properties such as cisterns, rain gardens, or even the tunnel project at McCormick Place, which will direct clean water back into Lake Michigan. Whether the region experiences drought conditions of a couple of years ago or has ample rain fall, we must all do our part to use all of our natural resources responsibly.

Rain barrels are available at the Chicago Center for Green Technology, 445 N. Sacramento Blvd., 312-746-9642, and Greenmaker Building Supply, 2500 N. Pulaski, 866-702-7500. Call for hours.

Visit cityofchicago.org/environment, “Learn About Rain Barrels” link for Barrel Bonanza event dates as they become available. For more information, contact the Department of Environment’s water line at 312-743-WATER or email.

S adhu A. Johnston is commissioner of Chicago’s Department of Environment.

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