Illegal sewage discharges mucking waterways from Chicago to Gulf of Mexico For immediate release: March 1, 2011 CHICAGO (March 1, 2011) – Water pollution illegally dumped from the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District’s (MWRD’s) three sewage treatment plants and combined sewer overflow pipes has created a plume of harmful impacts stretching from Chicago all the way […]
Secret Army Corps report on Asian carp: How we secured its release
If you have been following the efforts to keep Asian carp out of the Great Lakes, you have probably heard the barge industry and state and federal agencies express confidence that the fish are being held back by the electric fence in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. Prairie Rivers Network has been looking for […]
More Rain Gardens! Less Water Pollution
What is a rain garden? A rain garden is a shallow, vegetated landscaping feature that captures excess rainwater and puts it to work. As the rain garden bed is slightly below the level of the yard, the garden acts as a shallow dish that holds the water for a short time so that it can […]
Coal Pollution: It’s not just in the air; it’s in your water.
The Issue Surface coal mine where coal ash will be buried in Wabash County. The coal mining industry in Illinois pollutes water and damages our farmland, forests and natural watercourses. Impacts do not end with the land; our rural heritage is also being destroyed. Many families decide simply to locate elsewhere, causing the depopulation of […]
Why Care about Stormwater
Urban areas are dominated by hard surfaces such as streets, roofs, and parking lots. These surfaces allow very little rain and snow to penetrate into the ground underneath, and are therefore called impervious surfaces. Whereas natural land cover absorbs about 90% of precipitation, suburban neighborhoods may only soak up about 70% and downtowns are even […]