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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🌊 Save the Date! 🌊
Shipboard Science Immersion 2026
Join the Center for Great Lakes Literacy aboard the R/V Lake Guardian on Lake Superior, July 7–14, 2026!

✅ Open to formal & nonformal educators (grades 5–12) across the Great Lakes region.
📅 Applications open January 2026

Learn more: https://cgll.org/signature-program/r-v-lake-guardian-shipboard-science-immersion/ or the link in bio.

#TeachingTuesday

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🌊 Save the Date! 🌊Shipboard Science Immersion 2026Join the Center for Great Lakes Literacy aboard the R/V Lake Guardian on Lake Superior, July 7–14, 2026!✅ Open to formal & nonformal educators (grades 5–12) across the Great Lakes region.📅 Applications open January 2026Learn more: https://cgll.org/signature-program/r-v-lake-guardian-shipboard-science-immersion/ or the link in bio.#TeachingTuesday

Join the Invasive Crayfish Collaborative for an exciting webinar featuring Dr. Chris Taylor from the Illinois Natural History Survey who will provide an overview of midwestern crayfish habitat requirements, feeding, reproductive biology, and life-history.

Crayfishes in the Midwest occupy almost every type of aquatic and semi-aquatic habitat in the region. They function as critically important components of those ecosystems and in many cases represent a majority of invertebrate biomass. As “keystone” species, understanding their biology and roles in ecosystems is critically important.

Register for the webinar at InvasiveCrayfish.org/events1 Or the link in bio.

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Open post by ilinseagrant with ID 18098041069660813
Join the Invasive Crayfish Collaborative for an exciting webinar featuring Dr. Chris Taylor from the Illinois Natural History Survey who will provide an overview of midwestern crayfish habitat requirements, feeding, reproductive biology, and life-history.Crayfishes in the Midwest occupy almost every type of aquatic and semi-aquatic habitat in the region. They function as critically important components of those ecosystems and in many cases represent a majority of invertebrate biomass. As “keystone” species, understanding their biology and roles in ecosystems is critically important. Register for the webinar at InvasiveCrayfish.org/events1 Or the link in bio.

This season, let’s teach eco-friendly habits while spreading cheer! NOAA’s Greener Holiday Gift Guide is full of ideas to reduce waste and protect our precious water resources.

Check out the full guide at the link in bio.

#teachingtuesday

NOAA Marine Debris
NOAA Education

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Open post by ilinseagrant with ID 18083704883106892
This season, let’s teach eco-friendly habits while spreading cheer! NOAA’s Greener Holiday Gift Guide is full of ideas to reduce waste and protect our precious water resources. Check out the full guide at the link in bio. #teachingtuesdayNOAA Marine Debris NOAA Education

The gales of November may come early, but, as usual, the nominations for the Lakies are right on time along with our official call for nominations!

Brought to you by the Teach Me About the Great Lakes podcast, The Lakies (aka "quite possibly not the least prestigious Great Lakes-focused awards ceremony there is”) are back.

Our goal isn`t to be the Official Arbiters of Quality, but to host a fun celebration of amazing Great Lakes-related research, outreach, and communication in the inimitable Teach Me style.

Nomination categories are:
-Great Lakes Science Communication of the Year
-Great Lakes Outreach Program of the Year
-Great Lakes News Event of the Year
-Great Lakes Research Finding of the Year
-Coolest Thing You Learned Listening to TMATGL in 2025
-Science Podcast of the Year (Non-TMATGL edition)
-Great Lakes Animal of the Year
-Great Lakes Non-Animal of the Year
-Great Lakes Sandwich of the Year
-Great Lakes Donut of the Year

The Details:
-Deadline: Nominations close on December 4th.
Process: It`s easy (just enter the name/title and a link).
-Self-Nominations: Highly encouraged. Don`t be shy.

We’d love to get a broad swath of work across both the serious and less-serious categories to celebrate. Feel free to pass the link on to interested people: https://bit.ly/Lakies25

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Open post by ilinseagrant with ID 17913992691239654
The gales of November may come early, but, as usual, the nominations for the Lakies are right on time along with our official call for nominations! Brought to you by the Teach Me About the Great Lakes podcast, The Lakies (aka "quite possibly not the least prestigious Great Lakes-focused awards ceremony there is”) are back. Our goal isn't to be the Official Arbiters of Quality, but to host a fun celebration of amazing Great Lakes-related research, outreach, and communication in the inimitable Teach Me style.Nomination categories are:-Great Lakes Science Communication of the Year-Great Lakes Outreach Program of the Year-Great Lakes News Event of the Year-Great Lakes Research Finding of the Year-Coolest Thing You Learned Listening to TMATGL in 2025-Science Podcast of the Year (Non-TMATGL edition)-Great Lakes Animal of the Year-Great Lakes Non-Animal of the Year-Great Lakes Sandwich of the Year-Great Lakes Donut of the YearThe Details: -Deadline: Nominations close on December 4th.Process: It's easy (just enter the name/title and a link).-Self-Nominations: Highly encouraged. Don't be shy.We’d love to get a broad swath of work across both the serious and less-serious categories to celebrate. Feel free to pass the link on to interested people: https://bit.ly/Lakies25