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"A drop of water never sees itself as part of a flood."
- Anonymous

Win in the CTAQC Photo Contest!

Send us your pictures of where you see transportation impacting our precious water resources. Topics may include: pollution due to stomrwater runoff, flooding, the effects of impervious surface on a watershed, etc. Be creative! Include a brief description of what is happening in the pictures and don't forget to write the date and location and give full credit to the photographer. Photos and anecdotes will be judged by a panel on how well they illustrate the unique problems of our region. Submit your photo before your area's Caucus, and your issue may be featured!

Submit photos via snail mail postmarked by August 31, 2006 to: CTAQC Photo Contest c/o Center for Neighborhood Technology 2125 W North Ave Chicago, IL 60647 or email ctaqc@cnt.org. Winners will be announced at the 5th Annual Regioanl Congress in September 2006. Contributors need not be affiliated with a CTAQC organization to win.

CTAQC will be very involved next year in identifying the water concerns of the region. Please join us as we continue our unique public involvement process. We are looking for organizational partners for the Caucuses in January - September 2006. The schedule is as follows:

Click here for more details.

Q: Streets, Sprawl, Streams... What's the Connection?

A: Non-point source pollution.

Non-point source pollution is pollution that cannot be traced back to one source like an industrial factory. It is harder to regulate because it is the combination of pollution from a variety of sources, such as sewage from your house, oil that drips off of your car or phosphorus in the fertilizer you use on your lawn.

As communities expand, so do road networks, housing developments, sewer systems and more. The materials used in development (asphalt, concrete, etc.) are often impervious, meaning that water cannot penetrate the surface. Water that falls on impervious surfaces as rain, snow, lawn-watering, car-washing, etc. picks up heavy metals and chemicals and carries them to sewer systems or directly into our water sources. We now know that if 10% or more of an area is covered in impervious surfaces, the quality of water in that area will be negatively impacted.

We are witnessing a paradigm shift where city planners and developers are seeking solutions like: naturally filtering water where it lands through vegetated strips along the sides of roads, re-thinking the structure of a road by using permeable materials and re-envisioning cities with high density centers and protected openspace. Change is due in part to the EPA's regulations as mandated by the Clean Water Act to guide municipalities to use Best Management Practices in stormwater planning or cities reaching capacity and becoming increasingly unable to handle the amount of runoff. Much of the change can be credited to the public's effort to demand safe and clean water. Join us in ensuring clean water for Chicagoland.

CTAQC joined with Smart Growth America to oppose the EPA proposal to allow "blending" of stormwater with clean water. Blending is a process where largely untreated sewage mixes with treated sewage during heavy storms. The benefit is that it reduces pressure on storm drainage systems at peak times; the disadvantage is it endangers the quality of our drinking water supplies. Horrified activists backed Rep. Bart Stupak's ( D-MI) provision to prohibit EPA from using funds to finalize regulations. House leadership decided to oppose blending.

A is for... Albedo

Albedo refers to the amount of heat and light reflected from a surface. Road pavements that provide high albedo reflect more light, meaning fewer streetlamps, reduced energy use and less light pollution. Such pavements reflect heat, decreasing the "heat island" effect. Lower temperatures translate to lower A/C usage. Cooler streets also means cooler runoff.

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B is for... Best Management Practices

Best Management Practices (BMPs) are practices, or combinations of practices, determined by a designated agency (like the EPA), that are used in project design to minimize human impact on the ecosystem. Examples include: bioswales to slow and cool stormwater runoff from roads or contour grading to prevent soil erosion.

C is for... Cooling

The colder water is, the more oxygen it can hold (because gases are more soluable at lower temperatures). If oxygen levels in the water are too low, aquatic organisms can't breathe. Aquatic life is one of the primary indicators of healthy water bodies. Water that drains from roads can be cooled by implementing Best Management Practices (BMPs) like high albedo pavements or bioswales.

D is for... De-icing

De-icing using road salts may mean safer traveling, but can harm plants and soils, concrete surfaces and water supplies. Common salt (NaCl) is the most popular but most damaging. Calcium chloride (CaCl2) and calcium magnesium acetate (CMA) are better, but not perfect alternatives.

E is for... Eutrophication

Eutrophication is the depletion of oxygen from a body of water. One way this can happen is if water picks up phosphorus (Ph) from a road, carries it to the watershed and then to a lake or pond. Ph causes algae on the lake's surface to bloom. When they die, bacteria anaerobically decomposes the algae, using so much oxygen that other aquatic species suffocate. Preventing and cleaning water entering a lake can save it from severe eutrophication.

F is for... First Flush

The water that runs off roads and other impervious surfaces in the beginning of a storm is called the "first flush." The early part of the storm usually, but not always, dislodges and carries more pollutants than the later part of the storm. First flush systems can collect the most polluted runoff while subsequent rains can be diverted to stormwater drains.

G is for... Groundwater Recharge

When water seeps from the land's surface into shallow deposits of sand or deep fractured rock below (called aquifers), it becomes groundwater. When water that can infiltrate through the surface adds to the existing water, it is said to be "recharged."

H is for... Hydrology

Hydrology is the science of the properties, distribution and circulation of water on and below the surface of the land and in the atmosphere. Studying the hydrology of water means studying how water behaves in all of its forms.

I is for... Impervious Surfaces

Impervious surfaces include roads, parking lots and rooftops where water cannot be absorbed into the ground and instead pours into storm drains or directly into water bodies. The normal filtration process is absent, allowing contaminants to enter water bodies without natural purification.

J is for... Jurisdiction

Who has jurisdiction, or authority, over water? Generally, if rain falls east of the Mississippi River, riparian rights prevail, meaning the property owner has the right to water that flows on her land. West of the River, the water is subject to prior appropriation ("first in time, first in right"), suggesting that a homeowner doesn't necessarily own the rain that falls on his roof.

K is for... Karst Topography

Karst topography is defined by sinkholes indicating limestone or dolomite caves below. Groundwater recharge is rapid and does not benefit from infiltration, meaning karst areas are especially sensitive to contamination from surface runoff. Illinois has four regions of karst in the state. They are targeted for cement production which is used in our roads.

L is for... Lake Michigan

Lake Michigan provides drinking water for 6 million northeastern Illinois residents. The majority of lake water removed is returned to a tunnel that leads to the Mississippi River, not recycled in the area. As land is consumed by an increasing population, greater demands will be placed upon available supplies. NIPC predicts that the 6 county region will grow to 10 million by 2040. Water supply resources may become inadequate to meet the region's needs.

M is for... MTBE

Methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) is a fuel additive used to replace lead and to allow gasoline to burn more completely, reducing emissions. MTBE found in groundwater supplies throughout the country causes drinking water to smell and taste like turpentine.

N is for... Non-Point Source Pollution

Anything in water that is not an H or O is a contaminant. When contaminants negatively affect the enviroment, they are said to be pollutants. If a pollutant can be traced back to a single source, like a factory, it is point source pollution. If not, it is considered non-point source pollution.

O is for... Oxygen

Dissolved Oxygen (DO), the amount of oxygen in water, is measured to determine water quality. Stormwater runoff contains waste that consumes oxygen, which reduces the amount available to aquatic life for respiration.

P is for... Phosphorus

Phosphorus, when combined with nitrogen, causes poor water quality because it provides nutrients for algae that consume oxygen to the detriment of fish.

Q is for... Q=AV

The equation to determine runoff is Q=AV where Q is volume of runoff in cubic feet per second (cfs), A is area of flowing water under study and V is velocity of the flow. Impervious cover can increase volume (Q) by up to 16x, causing drastic changes in the natural size and shape of a stream channel.

R is for... Road Salt

Road salt can enter water supplies through groundwater or runoff. Because population density and road salt use is high in our chilly region, we should be particularly aware of adverse effects that research has uncovered. Canada has recently declared road salt "toxic."

S is for... Stormwater Runoff

Stormwater runoff is precipitation that runs off impervious surfaces rather than infiltrating into the soil and is often directed through a drainage system into waterways.

T is for... TMDLs

Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) specify the maximum amount of a pollutant that can be discharged into a water body from all sources (point and non-point) and still maintain water quality standards under the Clean Water Act.

U is for... Users

Users of transportation systems are the most important means of creating environmental solutions. Users have the power to purchase and consume more appropriate modes of travel that reduce air and water pollution.

V is for... Velocity

Velocity is speed: distance travelled per unit time. When a certain percentage of a watershed is covered in impervious surface (such as roads), the velocity of a stream increases causing stream erosion.

W is for... Watershed

A watershed is the total land area from which water drains into a particular stream or river.

X is for... Xeriscaping

Xeriscaping is a type of landscaping that uses native slow-growing, drought-tolerant plants to conserve water and reduce yard trimmings.

Y is for... Yttrium

Yttrium is a chemical dumped in the environment mainly by petrol-producing industries. Yttrium will gradually accumulate in soils and water eventually leading to increasing concentrations in humans, animals and soil particles.

Z is for... Zoning

Zoning is the public regulation of land and building use to control the character of a place.