About

Ensuring adequate and reliable supplies of clean water for all at a reasonable cost requires ISWS to plan for the near future. As a state, we need to know how much water will be available, how much we will need, options for providing additional water, ways to manage demand, and the associated impacts and costs.

Statewide Planning Framework

Since 2006, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) has funded regional water supply planning studies at ISWS. Ten planning regions have been defined throughout the state, and ISWS has completed work for the East Central Illinois Basin region, Kankakee Watershed subregion, Kaskaskia River Basin region, Middle Illinois region, Northeastern Illinois region, Rock River region, and American Bottoms region. Future work is planned for the remaining regions. Rigorous studies of each region help us build a statewide understanding of significant supply and demand challenges in Illinois. These studies provide critical information, analyses, and data to regional water supply planning committees for conducting regional planning.

Groundwater Modeling

A key component of this work is groundwater modeling. Specifically, the Illinois Groundwater Flow Modeling framework can assess a wide range of groundwater issues at local, regional, and interstate scales, helping planners understand how water moves through aquifers and how it may respond to future demands.

Publications and Water Use Reporting (IWIP)

ISWS has published numerous reports on our water supply planning efforts across the state. We also manage the Illinois Water Inventory Program, where water use is reported annually.

Tools

ISWS has developed a number of interactive maps to help people understand water use and issues in Illinois. One identifies where each of the more than 1,300 communities in Illinois obtains its water for municipal, industrial, and residential use, offering an accessible view of how different regions rely on local and shared water supplies. We’ve also developed the Drought Risk Assessment Tool and an Illinois Streamflow Assessment Model.