Category Archives: Water Stories

Stories about people like you, who use and value our region’s water supply

Coca-Cola saving water, energy through corporate sustainability strategies

By José Ilarraza-Boyed For more than 125 years, Coca-Cola has been “refreshing the world” with its products, some 3,500 beverages, including its namesake soda as well as more unique offerings such as Andina Juice distributed in Chile and Burn energy … Continue reading

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Students take first step toward better stormwater management in Logan Square

By Erin McMillan On St. Patrick’s Day – always an eventful holiday in the Chicago area, but one made even more celebratory this year by falling on a Saturday during a rare March heat wave – a group of high … Continue reading

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Reverse auction in Valparaiso, Ind. helps reduce neighborhood flooding

By Kara Riggio Name your price. That’s what Duane and Frieda Davison did to have a rain garden constructed at their Valparaiso, Ind., home last fall. The Davisons, along with 56 other families in the Memorial neighborhood, participated in the … Continue reading

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Chicago produce distributor goes bananas saving water

By Tina Seaman, photos by Emily Cikanek. As Testa Produce, Inc., a family-run, Chicago-based wholesale food distributer, celebrates its centennial, President Peter Testa and company are equally proud of the company’s latest accomplishment: receiving the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Platinum … Continue reading

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From gray to green: Investing in sustainable infrastructure

By Mandy Burrell Booth, photos by Emily Cikanek The Ryerson Woods Welcome Center not only greets visitors to the 500-acre Ryerson Conservation Area in unincorporated Lake County – one of the best examples of a northern flatwoods forest, a rare … Continue reading

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Good riddance, radium: Ion-exchange provides clean water in Lake Zurich, Ill.

Story by Marie Donahue, Photos by Emily Cikanek When one reads “radioactive material” and “groundwater” in the same sentence, it is easy to get a little nervous. Yet many people don’t realize that trace levels of radioactive materials, or “radionuclides,” … Continue reading

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Planning well into the future

by Marie Donahue, MPC Research Assistant John Dillon knows when something is going down … especially when that something is groundwater levels. “The water level here in Batavia has dropped about 200 feet in the last 30 years. We cannot … Continue reading

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Not your father’s water meter

When one of his customers received a whale of a water bill for more than $21,000, Don Catanese, a 31-year veteran field service tech, knew something was amiss. Typically, the monthly bill for this industrial user comes in around $3,500. … Continue reading

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Beach cleanups a practice worth “parroting”

Story and photos by Abby Crisostomo Lake Michigan’s sandy shores may not be the first to spring to mind when imagining oneself lounging on the beach listening to “Margaritaville.” Yet Terri Dale of Northwest Indiana, and her band of fellow … Continue reading

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Fixing leaks every day of the week

Story by James Szczybor Photos by Emily Cikanek The one good thing about leaky kitchen faucets is that they’re easy to see and hear. Underground leaks in water mains and distribution pipes are a whole different matter. Buried beneath streets and … Continue reading

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