Environmental Progress - Fall 2004

Governor Blagojevich Launches Mississippi River Source Water Protection Initiative

Focuses on communities using the river for drinking water source

Governor Rod Blagojevich has launched a new targeted initiative, through the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, to provide increased direct technical assistance and financial assistance to communities along the Mississippi River that also depend on the river for their public water supply.

"I have asked IEPA to make sure these communities are aware of the variety of assistance available to help protect the river, not only as a recreational and economic asset, but as a source of water," the Governor said.

Governor Blagojevich announced the initiative during the "Grand Excursion" in late June and early July in which Governors of states on the Upper Mississippi joined together to pledge their efforts to enhance and protect America's greatest river that runs along their borders. The flotilla of vessels along the river recreated a famous excursion 150 years earlier from St.Louis to Minneapolis/St.Paul.

"Illinois EPA will assemble teams of experts on our staff to be available to local governments and community groups," Illinois Environmental Protection Agency Director Renee Cipriano pledged in response to the Governor's initiative.

In October, the first of a series of roundtables and work sessions under the initiative was held in Quincy, with more than 70 representatives from local agencies participating. The event included a "table top" simulated response to scenarios involving threats to the public water supply as well as a workshop on developing watershed protection plans. The Illinois Rural Water Association joined IEPA in coordinating the event.

Topics covered included the Source Water Assessments that have been completed for all community water supplies by IEPA. They identify the potential for both point and nonpoint contamination of the source water supply. The Quincy SWA, for example, was completed in November 2001 and identified such threats as accidents involving barges on the river, production and storage of hazardous materials, and agricultural runoff.

Participants were also made aware of additional financial and technical assistance, available through Illinois EPA and other state and federal agencies, for projects to help protect source water, such as, the Section 319 federal Clean Water Act grants administered by IEPA for nonpoint source pollution prevention projects.

Director Cipriano earlier announced the first session during a two-day visit to Quincy in August when she met with numerous community and regional leaders.

Other communities, with public water supply intakes in the Mississippi River, that will be the site of similar programs during 2005 include the Hancock County communities of Hamilton, Nauvoo and Warsaw; the Quad-Cities communities of East Moline, Moline, and Rock Island (and Rock Island Arsenal); Alton, Granite City and East St. Louis in the Metro East area and Chester in Randolph County.