League of Women Voters of Illinois

Climate Change: Water Resources

See also Air Quality/Energy Recognizing Global Climate Change as an issue requiring swift action, the League of Women Voters of the United States voted to make it a national priority at its convention in Portland, OR in 2008. Two Climate Change Issues Specialists focusing on Water Resources and Air Quality/Energy joined the IL Issues Committee immediately afterward, and the issue was added to the Illinois Core Advocacy Issues list in 2010. Illinois Leagues take major action under the LWVUS Positions and the LWVIL Natural Resources position.

LWVUS Positions
Water Resources: Support measures to reduce pollution in order to protect surface water, groundwater, and drinking water.

LWVIL Position
Natural Resources: Promote an environment beneficial to life through the protection and wise management of natural resources in the public interest by recognizing the interrelationships of air quality, energy, land use, waste management and water resources.

Outlook - Update
The Lake Michigan LWV (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin) held its annual meeting in October 2010 in Wisconsin. Asian carp and wetland preservation were two topics of interest.

LMLWV is still lobbying for fully funding the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative at $475M for Fy2011. President Obama requested $300M, but the concern is Congress may not agree to appropriate even that much.

The Asian carp saga continues with more studies, more time. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced a feasibility study of options, impacts and technologies that will include all aquatic pathways between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins and will take at least five years.

Many studies have already been conducted regarding carp passage between the Illinois River and Lake Michigan, but a Canadian-US joint study has begun to evaluate the consequences of a carp invasion into the Great Lakes, estimated to last 18 months.

Did you know that Illinois’ factory farms (CAFOs) produce as much untreated manure as 89 million people? That’s almost seven times the population of Illinois, according to Food and Water Watch. Environment Illinois proposes preventing new CAFOs and requiring existing ones to get permits regulating pollution discharge. The US EPA recently criticized the Illinois EPA for inadequately regulating large farms and enforcing Clean Water Act permits.

Interested in working on this issue? Please email issues@lwvil.org
and cite the Issue on the subject line.

Additional Resources:

Water Issue Update — 2012 Issues Briefing (January 28, 2012)
Water Issue Update — 2011 Issues Briefing (February 5, 2011)

League of Women Voters of Illinois®

Climate Change: Water Resources

Additional Resources:

League of Women Voters of Illinois^®