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Getting started with water sustainability planning

Sustainable water planning allows communities to balance today’s water use with protecting future water availability. The second Shared Waters, Shared Future workshop explored what water sustainability planning can look like in practice, and how peer examples and data can help communities begin or strengthen their own efforts.

Why water sustainability matters in Illinois

Illinois is often seen as water abundant, but increasing demand and drought risk are driving the need for more proactive planning. This is particularly important given that the impacts of today’s water use may not be felt for decades.

Wei Han from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources Office of Water Resources provided an overview of water supply planning, connecting local efforts to the Illinois State Water Plan. Han highlighted how the plan provides a unified framework to address water quantity, quality, sustainability, and climate resilience. Both the plan and the water supply planning program are great resources for communities.

Water planning in practice

Presenters shared three examples of water planning from across the country.

Claudia Hochstein from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources demonstrated how the state has streamlined their processes to standardize data, reduce reporting burden on communities, and enable better regional analysis. The online water supply plan form and supporting tables workbook help communities evaluate future demand, understand resource constraints, and make informed decisions.

Tom Dumm from Ramboll, an engineering and consultancy firm, shared how he worked with Nassau County, New York on its growing groundwater challenges by examining the feasibility of New York City providing supplemental water to the county. This example showed how communities can evaluate potential source switches by considering shared data, governance, financing, public acceptance, water quality, and infrastructure needs before committing to major infrastructure investments.

Finally, Kathleen Smith from Hazen and Sawyer, an environmental engineering and consulting firm, discussed the Central Ohio Regional Water Study, which assessed how population growth, industrial developments, and data centers will shape future water demand across 15 counties. Smith shared how fast-growing regions can use data, scenario planning, state guidance, and dashboards to assess future demand, identify gaps, and compare local, regional, and reuse strategies.

Data and tools to support groundwater sustainability planning

Dan Whalen from the civil engineering firm Williams & Works emphasized that groundwater should be treated as a manageable resource, not an assumed constant. Pumping can lower groundwater levels, capture streamflow, and affect water quality. He stressed that communities need aquifer testing, mapping, monitoring, and local data to understand what level of use can be sustained before impacts become difficult to reverse.

Groundwater modeling and community water-use data can help communities assess supply, demand, and long-term risks. Drawing on a Kane County groundwater study, Dan Hadley from the Illinois State Water Survey demonstrated how integrating datasets — including Illinois Water Inventory Program water use data, CMAP water demand forecasts, and water quality data — can reveal where demand may exceed sustainable supply. He also showed how impacts like streamflow depletion and chloride contamination can persist for many decades.

Dave Hart from the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey presented an interactive decision-support tool developed for the state’s Central Sands region. This tool combines groundwater flow modeling, water travel-time estimates, and land-use data to help local decision-makers see where groundwater comes from, how long it may take for land use changes to affect water quality, and why some impacts take years or decades to appear.

Takeaways

Throughout these presentations, a consistent theme emerged: water sustainability planning is not a one-size-fits-all process or a one-time report. It’s an ongoing effort that should be tailored to each community or region’s water sources, demand pressures, vulnerabilities, and priorities. Effective plans are grounded in reliable data, support decision-making under uncertainty, and evolve as new information becomes available.

The water sustainability planning framework, created for this workshop, is meant to guide practitioners through the water sustainability planning process and can be adapted based on their community’s unique needs.

Looking ahead

This workshop is one in a five-part series designed to support water supply planning across northeastern Illinois. Upcoming sessions will continue to build on these themes, including a deeper dive into climate and drought preparedness for water utilities. The next workshop, Addressing utility climate and drought preparedness, is Wednesday, June 3.

Missed the workshop? Find the recording and resources on the Shared Waters, Shared Future webpage.