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From regional plan to local action: Advancing water sustainability in the Northwest Water Planning Alliance region

Communities across northeastern Illinois face growing water supply challenges. Overreliance on groundwater, water quality degradation, and limited access to alternative sources like Lake Michigan have left some areas at risk of overusing their water. These pressures are compounded by anticipated population growth and aging infrastructure.

In response, the Northwest Water Planning Alliance (NWPA), in partnership with the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning and Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant, developed the Water Supply Sustainability Plan to help communities better understand their water conditions and make sustainable water supply choices for the future.

Groundwater demand exceeds sustainable supply in the region

The NWPA region covers 5 counties (DeKalb, Kane, Kendall, Lake, and McHenry) and 5 councils of government representing over 80 communities and unincorporated areas on the northern and western edges of the Chicago metropolitan region. While water demand for the NWPA region is projected to decline slightly by 2050 due to ongoing efficiency improvements, demand for groundwater remains a critical concern for many communities.

To begin to understand the magnitude of these concerns, the plan uses the northeastern Illinois regional water demand forecast and the Illinois State Water Survey’s sustainable supply estimates from 2024 to gauge how much water can be withdrawn from different sources — like groundwater, rivers, or Lake Michigan — without jeopardizing their long-term availability.

These comparisons reveal that the NWPA region’s groundwater withdrawals are expected to exceed sustainable levels by 12.2 million gallons per day (MGD) by 2050, demonstrating the need for water conservation and efficiency.

Communities can reach sustainable levels through water conservation

The plan identifies five water conservation and efficiency strategies that could reduce the region’s water use by over 38 MGD, including more than 23 MGD in groundwater use. If implemented by all the NWPA region’s communities, these strategies can achieve significant water savings and demonstrate the impact of local collective action:

1. Residential retrofits: upgrading homes with water-efficient appliances and fixtures
2. Outdoor landscape efficiency: using water-efficient landscaping and watering techniques, like native planting and drip irrigation
3. Water-efficient new development: building new homes with water-efficient standards like those used in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s WaterSense-certified homes
4. Water loss control: fixing leaks and reducing water loss in public water systems
5. Commercial, institutional, and industrial conservation programs: helping businesses and institutions cut water use through targeted programs

In communities where demand is greater than supply, these savings can help ease pressure on water systems during periods of peak demand and delay the need to search for alternative water supplies. Even where supplies are stable, conservation can help communities avoid costly infrastructure upgrades, accommodate growth, save energy, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and become more resilient to climate change impacts like drought.

The importance of local action 

While the NWPA Water Supply Sustainability Plan offers a valuable regional perspective on water supply and demand, its greatest strength is guiding local action. County-level comparisons provide useful context, but they may not always reflect what is happening on the ground.

Local water quality issues, seasonal variations, and concentrated demand in specific areas can lead to community-level water stress, even in counties where projected water demand aligns with their sustainable supply. Likewise, not every community in a county projected to exceed its supply will face shortages.

That’s why the plan encourages municipalities to use the regional plan as a starting point to assess local conditions, develop their own sustainability plans, and determine which water conservation and efficiency strategies will have the greatest impact.

Refining our understanding of supply

At the same time, it’s essential for the region to continue refining its understanding of sustainable supply. More localized studies, such as the Illinois State Water Survey’s Kane County shallow groundwater sustainability study, can provide insight into where the county needs to make reductions. It also can identify other factors like water quality or seasonality constraints that can be used to refine the region’s sustainable supply estimates.

Together, local action and ongoing scientific advancements in estimating water supply can help the NWPA region make informed decisions and take practical steps toward protecting its water resources — ensuring clean, reliable water continues to support daily life, local economies, and future generations to come.