In the news: More intense rains could swamp Chicago’s aging sewers

Posted April 21st, 2011 in Climate Ready Communities, News, Stormwater & Green Infrastructure, Water Resource Economics

From Chicago Tribune:

In a city built on a swamp, where rainstorms already flood basements and force sewage into Lake Michigan and local streams, climate change could make Chicago’s chronic water pollution woes even worse.

Researchers hired by Mayor Richard Daley’s office estimate that intense rainfall will happen more frequently in the not-so-distant future because of warming global temperatures, challenging the region’s aging sewers and the troubled Deep Tunnel project more than ever.

Rains of greater than 2.5 inches a day, the amount that can trigger sewage dumping into Lake Michigan, are expected to increase by 50 percent between now and 2039, according to a study by scientists from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Texas Tech University. By the end of the century, the number of big storms could jump by a whopping 160 percent. Read more.  

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Looking for a fun way to teach about marine debris? Check out Me and Debry, which is a whimsical, 30‑minute, audience‑participation play created for @UWiscSeaGrant. It helps students explore what marine debris is, why it matters, and how we can make a difference in the Great Lakes.

The full script (English) and participation scripts (English, Spanish, and Hmong) are free to use, along with marketing materials for performances.

Bring learning to life and start a conversation about litter in our waters!

Check it out at the link in bio.

#TeachingTuesday

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Open post by ilinseagrant with ID 18104492783310070
Looking for a fun way to teach about marine debris? Check out Me and Debry, which is a whimsical, 30‑minute, audience‑participation play created for @UWiscSeaGrant. It helps students explore what marine debris is, why it matters, and how we can make a difference in the Great Lakes.The full script (English) and participation scripts (English, Spanish, and Hmong) are free to use, along with marketing materials for performances.Bring learning to life and start a conversation about litter in our waters!Check it out at the link in bio.#TeachingTuesday

Do you work or live along the Great Lakes coasts? Watch our newly released video series collection, containing several short videos that overview the range of coastal protection options in the Great Lakes, including:

- Natural processes in the Great Lakes
- Hard coastal protection structures and how they interact with/alter natural processes
- Nature-based coastal solutions in the Great Lakes, ranging from green to gray approaches

Find our two new video series at the link in bio.

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Open post by ilinseagrant with ID 18075599984541727
Do you work or live along the Great Lakes coasts? Watch our newly released video series collection, containing several short videos that overview the range of coastal protection options in the Great Lakes, including:- Natural processes in the Great Lakes- Hard coastal protection structures and how they interact with/alter natural processes- Nature-based coastal solutions in the Great Lakes, ranging from green to gray approachesFind our two new video series at the link in bio.

Located in Washington, D.C., the Sea Grant Knauss Fellowship provides a unique educational and professional experience to graduate students who have an interest in ocean, coastal and Great Lakes resources, and in the national policy decisions affecting those resources. This is a one-year fellowship open to any student, regardless of citizenship, who is enrolled toward a degree in a graduate or professional program on the day of the deadline.

Students enrolled at an Illinois or Indiana university or college should submit their applications through Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant by emailing Angela Archer at amcbride@purdue.edu. Students in surrounding states without a Sea Grant program should contact the National Sea Grant College Program at oar.sg.fellows@noaa.gov for a referral.

Application deadline: June 3, 2026.

To learn more about the fellowship, visit the link in bio.

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Open post by ilinseagrant with ID 18136822375511465
Located in Washington, D.C., the Sea Grant Knauss Fellowship provides a unique educational and professional experience to graduate students who have an interest in ocean, coastal and Great Lakes resources, and in the national policy decisions affecting those resources. This is a one-year fellowship open to any student, regardless of citizenship, who is enrolled toward a degree in a graduate or professional program on the day of the deadline.Students enrolled at an Illinois or Indiana university or college should submit their applications through Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant by emailing Angela Archer at amcbride@purdue.edu. Students in surrounding states without a Sea Grant program should contact the National Sea Grant College Program at oar.sg.fellows@noaa.gov for a referral. Application deadline: June 3, 2026.To learn more about the fellowship, visit the link in bio.