By Brian Dolinar
This fall, Prairie Rivers Network (PRN) launched our Clean Water Forever campaign to sound the alarm about the emergency facing our rivers, lakes, and groundwater. Driven by unchecked pollution, particularly from industrial agriculture and legacy pollution from coal mining and decades of burning coal, Illinois faces a grave water crisis encompassing interwoven issues of water quality, quantity, equity, and access.
With each passing year, the threats continue to mount. We are experiencing the reality of a warming planet, with extreme weather, flooding, wildfires, and droughts all touching us here in Illinois. Recent Supreme Court rulings have weakened the Clean Water Act. Chemical ag runoff spills into our streams unchecked. From access to clean drinking water to access to recreation, Illinois has a tremendous amount of work to do to provide long-term solutions to our shared water security.
ILLINOIS, WE HAVE A PROBLEM!
Of the streams that Illinois EPA has assessed for water quality conditions from 2020–2022:
- 40% are too polluted to support aquatic life
- 62% are too polluted to support indigenous aquatic life
- 85% are too polluted to support swimming or direct human contact
- 100%. Yes, 100% are too polluted to support fish consumption
THE OPPORTUNITY
We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to leverage historic funding from federal legislation like the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act and align those opportunities to advance Illinois’ updated State Water Plan. At a scale like never before, Illinois has the potential to clean up legacy pollution from abandoned coal mines, deploy nature-based solutions to restore our rivers while providing critical habitat for wildlife, advance statewide wetlands protections, and update our infrastructure to enhance water quality for both rural and urban communities across the state. Illinois can become a clean water leader in the Midwest, benefitting all communities downstream to the Gulf of Mexico.
THE SOLUTION — CLEAN WATER FOREVER
That’s why Prairie Rivers Network is launching Clean Water Forever, a campaign that aims to change the way Illinois thinks about and cares for its water. Starting in southern Illinois and working our way north, PRN will support downstream communities by listening to their concerns and helping to identify and implement locally-informed solutions and financial resources. Through these efforts, PRN will support communities as they build climate resiliency and advance their vision for the future.
Clean Water Forever starts with telling the truth about the water quality crisis in the Midwest and ends with finding long-term solutions to protect our communities.
The main principles for this campaign include:
QUALITY
Quality: Illinois must hold polluters accountable to clean up their mess and protect our right to clean water.
QUANTITY
Quantity: Illinois must protect the long-term viability of its water supply, ensuring that aquifers and public water supplies are not depleted from agricultural irrigation and industrial withdrawals and are able to naturally recharge.
EQUITY
Equity: Illinois must address water rate and water quality disparities that disproportionately impact low income and marginalized communities across the state.
ACCESS
Access: Illinois must act to protect the public’s right to access, use, and enjoy public waters.
Throughout this newsletter you will read how PRN will lead Illinois towards achieving clean water forever!
