News Updates

New workshop series to support region’s shared water resources

Water connects every community in northeastern Illinois. Whether we rely on Lake Michigan, groundwater, or rivers, our region’s water future is deeply intertwined. And the challenges we face do not stop at community boundaries. Meeting them requires collaboration, and practical action.

Shared Waters, Shared Future: Northeastern Illinois Regional Water Supply Sustainability Workshops is a five-part virtual series launching in February 2026. The series will bring together community leaders, water utilities, planners, policymakers, and residents to discuss strategies and solutions that can sustain our water supply for future generations. The workshops are hosted by the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning and the Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant with support from the Illinois Department of Natural Resource’s Office of Water.

Over the course of five virtual workshops, participants will explore different dimensions of water supply sustainability. The five workshops cover:

• Collaborating with water utilities and local governments: Regional experts and local leaders will share strategies and lessons learned from working across jurisdictions to improve efficiency, strengthen trust, and explore sensitive but necessary conversations about regionalization.
• Creating a water sustainability plan: Speakers will guide communities through the process of designing long-term water supply plans, highlighting replicable templates, peer examples, and how water planning can be woven into broader community goals.
• Addressing utility climate and drought preparedness: Experts will share data, tools, and scenarios that help utilities prepare for drought, extreme weather, and shifting water demand — providing a glimpse into how northeastern Illinois can build resilience in a rapidly changing environment.
• Modernizing Illinois’ well impact review process: Participants will discuss how groundwater is managed, lessons Illinois can learn from other states, and pathways toward protecting this vital but often overlooked resource.
• Understanding water governance and management in Illinois: Participants will gain clarity on the complex web of agencies and policies that shape water management, highlighting both the gaps and the opportunities for better coordination as well as the tools to navigate and influence governance more effectively.

Together, these sessions are designed not only to inform but to empower. Each one weaves through three core themes: the need to plan and prepare for long-term governance and financing, the urgency to save and share through conservation and efficiency, and the opportunity to connect and coordinate through strengthened partnerships across agencies, utilities, and communities.

While each workshop is distinct, the series is bound together by a common goal: ensuring that northeastern Illinois has the tools, strategies, and relationships it needs to secure a sustainable water future. Participants will leave not just with new knowledge, but with practical solutions, peer connections, and a clearer vision of what it takes to protect and manage our shared waters.

To allow broader participation, workshops will be hosted virtually — and registration is now open. Whether you are a local government staff member, a water utility manager, planner, policymaker, community organizer, or someone who cares about the future of our water, this series offers a chance to learn, share, and act.

Register for Shared Waters, Shared Future — and be part of building a resilient water future for northeastern Illinois.