A clean water crisis may be closer than we realize

May 2019

That is, if we don't get serious—and creative—about investing in water infrastructure.

So much of Illinois’ future relies on infrastructure investments that are simply not being made. With crumbling bridges, buckling roads and outdated pipelines, it’s easy to see why investing in infrastructure has support from across the political spectrum. It’s going to take political courage, hard work and smart policy to fund the large, transformative projects that give Illinoisans the future they deserve.

Legislators in Springfield are working with Gov. J.B. Pritzker to pass the state’s first major capital bill since 2009, which was itself the first capital bill passed in a decade. This is a positive and important step, but we can’t continue a trend of waiting for our infrastructure to reach a crisis point before investing.

In Illinois, we need leaders in the public and private sectors to partner in building a long-term, sustainable investment plan. The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) is participating in Infrastructure Week 2019 by joining organizations across the country in raising awareness about the critical need for increased investment in our crumbling infrastructure.