[Communications] MWRD Commissioner Du Buclet Newsletter

[Kimberly Neely Du Buclet]

View this email in your browser (https://mailchi.mp/c41c67878383/commissioner-kimberly-neely-du-buclets-monthly-newsletter-4219057?e=c4ca39f2f7)
Next Regular Board Meeting on Thursday Jun 3rd
at 10:30 am
The Board of Commissioners will hold its Regular Board Meeting on Thursday June 17th at 10:30am at the Main Office Building downtown and public participation is encouraged. Visit mwrd.org to see the meeting agenda and live stream viewing instructions.  I look forward to hearing from you at the next MWRD Board meeting!

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MWRD Celebrates the start of Pride Month

On June 1, 2021 the PRIDE FLAG was simultaneously raised at all seven MWRD WRP locations.

In recognition of Pride Month, the MWRD raised the Pride flag at its downtown headquarters for the first time in 2019. Two years and one pandemic later, Commissioners and staff have raised the flag at each of the MWRD’s seven water reclamation plants.

Commissioner DuBuclet participated in the raising of the Pride flag at the Calumet WRP. “The LGBTQIA+ community in Chicago and Cook County has made wide-ranging contributions in numerous fields, including business, manufacturing, real estate, education, the arts, media, not-for-profit organizations, politics, and government,” said MWRD President Kari K. Steele. “The District and commissioners have been advocates in assuring equal access to clean water services and opportunities for employees and District contracts.”
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
Grant Funding
** (https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_ginxi49-Q62aboZiPCaGXA?fbclid=IwAR3CDMO98FNTURLdFWzhQEMtBvuA49khm5Ikxxma1On_-VXsqJcPZTqRXdk)
APPLICATION DEADLINE is JULY 30th. For more details about this program please click of the following link ** IEPA 319 Grant Funding (https://www.epa.gov/nps/319-grant-current-guidance)
Restore The Canopy Relaunch
** (https://mwrd.org/eq-compost)

In response to significant losses in the tree population due to the emerald ash borer infestations and extreme weather, the MWRD launched RTC in 2016. Since that time, the MWRD has given away more than 93,000 free tree saplings.

WHO: The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD)

WHAT: The MWRD will provide a variety of free potted oak saplings every Wednesday through its Restore the Canopy (RTC), Plant a Tree program.

WHERE: Visit MWRD water reclamation plants (WRPs) at the following locations:

** Calumet Water Reclamation Plant, 400 E. 130th St., Chicago (https://goo.gl/maps/QkV1ReQmFyVMLpcJ7)

** O’Brien Water Reclamation Plant, 3500 Howard Street, Skokie (https://goo.gl/maps/sGHxgHE9Pivdo8PE7)

** Stickney Water Reclamation Plant, 6001 W. Pershing Rd., Cicero (https://goo.gl/maps/o79Y7yvYFATkBEAt8)

** Egan Water Reclamation Plant, 550 South Meacham Rd, Schaumburg (https://goo.gl/maps/wVBW8yzZ1CbUvys3A)

** Hanover Park Water Reclamation Plant, 1220 Sycamore Ave., Hanover Park (https://goo.gl/maps/rstQuHVHpYuhPsky7)

** Kirie Water Reclamation Plant, 701 West Oakton St., Des Plaines (https://goo.gl/maps/6PqrWNDG6wedA6Cv7)

WHEN: Every Wednesday in April through October, from 9 a.m. to noon.
For more information about MWRD's Restore the Canopy relaunch please click on the following link ** Restore The Canopy 2021 (https://mwrd.org/sites/default/files/2021-04/2021%20Restoring%20the%20Canopy.pdf)
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FREE Ways To Get Trees Planted in Chicago
Planting trees is one of the simplest nature-based solutions to climate change and is a tangible way for individuals to make a positive impact on the environment. Programs in Chicago provide new trees and replace trees lost on city blocks to residents with the condition that residents put in the time and work to maintain the tree once it’s planted. Openlands wants to help you become an active steward of Chicago’s urban forest, which is why we’ve created this guide to help you find trees in Chicago through one of the programs offered to residents. Below are a number of ways to can get trees to plant.

Chicago 3-1-1:
Chicago residents looking to plant a tree in their neighborhood can contact Chicago’s 3-1-1 service. Residents can simply call 3-1-1 or submit a request online. Once the request is approved, the Bureau of Forestry will plant a tree along the public right-of-way in your neighborhood.

Openlands Tree Planters Grants: Tree Planters Grants provide new trees to communities in the City of Chicago and the near south suburbs.

Chicago Region Trees Initiative Program: As part of the Plant Trees for Communities Initiative with the Chicago Region Trees Initiative (CRTI), of which Openlands is a founding member, individuals are invited to plant at least one tree in every local community in the seven-county Chicago region and in each of the 50 Chicago wards (approx. 340 trees) in 2021.

Purchase a Tree at the Openlands Native Tree and Plant Sale: The Openlands Native Tree and Plant Sale offers a wide variety of native trees for purchase that are not available at most big-box stores and nurseries.

For more information about ways to get Trees planted for FREE or for purchase click on the following link ** TREE FUNDING (https://openlands.org/2021/04/30/how-to-get-trees-planted-in-your-chicago-neighborhood/?fbclid=IwAR1uaJyf53SaGR-iaZCc9J_hm3KgWvjwRMfsDGPFOXqoR9GCcSNNOOvfdxk)
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Save the Monarchs

The MWRD has partnered**   (https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001vViWc4O1kWKmO0nbpAt7wjD-fvzBdcjuMJNKDfgPR1J_Mb9L0-PS8xhSqGw4A1-2rYovW0_wQHt2xRXtoeteXXUtQ3UgFtvCMDL_DC-Ln_-2V8jCCiSK_bdCWJ0gNAiuX5OYhY-gzgGu8I9w_9k9m0jUBTO4yfEg_Fh4Rpq31vilWVq58GDG7VeMj_2Qtbb5UIx1z77sGCOVvVApE8J8AqU868EL5EzXzBENftKr494=&c=GSvHHUJydjKZNTW4_aH9FVSE_ERZ7czz5brCUZCgbrrVaJsAGyHFYg==&ch=8U9xPgbqo2WJZVPL_tb5aqrdwEvtMTjt_5uyJVqtKvT4lPywnuFluQ==)
with the Illinois Monarch Project to help save monarch butterflies from becoming extinct. Populations have rapidly declined due to habitat loss and climate change, resulting from development, poor land management practices, and heavy reliance on pesticides and herbicides. Milkweed, the sole source of food for monarch caterpillars, has also declined

FREE MILLWEED SEEDS: Take our ** online pledge  (https://mwrd.org/form/monarch-butterfly-pledge)
to help save the monarchs. While supplies last, we will send you a complimentary packet of milkweed seeds (available to Cook County residents only) when you complete and submit your ** pledge. (https://mwrd.org/form/monarch-butterfly-pledge)
For more information on partnership with the Illinois Monarch Project please click the following link ** Save the Monarchs (https://mwrd.org/save-monarchs)
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Illinois EPA Awards
$1 Million Grant to MWRD for Robbins Project
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (Illinois EPA) recently awarded a $1 million Section 319 Clean Water Act grant to the MWRD and the Village of Robbins to help mitigate local flooding, improve local water quality in the region, and restore Midlothian Creek in the Little Calumet River Watershed.

“These two key pieces of the overall Robbins Flood Control Project are based on improvements identified in the MWRD’s Little Calumet River Detailed Watershed Plan and are part of a larger long-term planning effort by the MWRD to strengthen and revitalize Robbins,” said MWRD Commissioner Kim Du Buclet. “What began as a stormwater project to curb flooding in Robbins has spawned a series of partnerships between the Village, MWRD and others to improve aspects of life that have environmental, economic, and social impacts.”

For more information about Illinois EPA's grant please click on the following link ** IEPA MWRD Robbins Grant (https://www2.illinois.gov/IISNews/23333-IEPA_Awards_$1_Million_Grant_to_Metropolitan_Water_Reclamation_District.pdf)
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MWRD provides $1.5 Million in funds to repair a stretch of the Lakefront damaged by 2020 Storm

A $1.5 million lakefront protection project is underway between 47th and 51st Streets, a stretch of waterfront known as Morgan Shoal for the 400-million-year-old rock outcrop situated a few hundred feet offshore.

The Chicago Department of Transportation is teamed up with the Army Corps of Engineers on the project, with funding provided by the MWRD. The work will augment emergency repairs completed in 2020.

“We hope these critical funds will solidify our shoreline and protect Lake Shore Drive from damaging waves and flooding,” said MWRD President Kari Steele in a statement
For more information about this project please read the Hyde Park Herald's article at the following link ** Morgan Shoal Repair Project (https://www.hpherald.com/news/local/city-and-army-corps-announce-1-5-million-repair-project-at-morgan-shoal/article_7a94146a-a6d4-11eb-b248-b396c3a4b1e9.html)
MWRD Highlight's recent investments during
United For Infrastructure Week

During National United for Infrastructure Week MWRD released a new video highlighting its commitment to addressing wastewater treatment, odor control measures and infrastructure investments to improve quality of life for its neighbors.

“Reducing odors from the wastewater treatment process is one of our top priorities,” said MWRD President Kari K. Steele. “We have made substantial infrastructure investments in our facilities and staff to help address these matters, and United for Infrastructure Week is an ideal time to highlight why these investments can improve our technology and lead to more protection for our environment and the public health.

Click on the link to find out more about MWRD's infrastructure investment ** MWRD United For Infrastructure (https://mwrd.org/sites/default/files/2021-05/Odor%20Control%20Video.pdf)
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Illinois Health Officials to
Monitor COVID-19 in Wastewater

Health officials launch a statewide system to monitor COVID-19 and its variants in wastewater that will provide early warnings of a potential outbreak on a county-by-county basis.

SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, are detectable in human waste nearly from the onset of infection, according to officials. Symptoms may not appear for three to five days.

“Data generated through sampling wastewater will help public health officials better understand the extent of COVID-19 infections in communities,” says Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike.
For more information about WTTW's story and article please click on the following link ** COVID-19 Monitoring in Wastewater (https://news.wttw.com/2021/05/24/state-health-officials-monitor-covid-19-wastewater?fbclid=IwAR1c9-H77HjhdLlTgVEmBuKjq02f3K3LN5Was3Y2MdJxLXGwy5zE2wUbiLU)
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Low lying Evanston & Chicago neighborhoods still at
risk of flooding despite improvements
A $210 million sewer improvement project completed between 1991 and 2008 was designed to reduce the backups. Now though, it seems another source is exacerbating the same old problem.

Evanston, Chicago and other suburbs have taken steps in recent years to upgrade sewer systems in an effort to reduce flooding. But those same towns are now examining how heavier and more frequent storms caused by climate change could result in more water and runoff seeping into homes.

Neighborhoods in low-lying areas and near greater Chicago’s engineered waterways, many of them communities of color, are at an increasing risk for flooding due to storms intensified by climate change, according to Flood Factor, a website that models future flooding risks across the nation.

For more information about the Tribune article please click on the following link ** Low Lying Neighborhoods Still at Risk (https://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/evanston/ct-prem-evr-flooding-climate-change-evanston-chicago-tl-0429-20210427-ma5zwvhvo5dxvlpb7wdc2j63ie-story.html?fbclid=IwAR2fBtyCT28IPT87p0TagxEl5zX_Jhra0K-r6I9XOocZ9jqy0FwChW1eKcE)
Grant to study the use of Artificial Intelligence to
Recovery Energy & Freshwater from Wastewater

The U.S. Department of Energy announced that UChicago, along with Argonne National Laboratory, Northwestern University and other partners, will receive $2 million in funding to develop an artificial intelligence-assisted system for recovery of energy, nutrients and freshwater from municipal wastewater.

The ultimate goal of the project, which will run three years, is to transform the existing U.S. treatment system for municipal wastewater into an intelligent water resource recovery system that will dramatically reduce energy consumption and become energy positive at a national scale.

The resulting water recovery system would benefit the water supply in underserved communities on Chicago's South Side as well as the Great Lakes region in general, including Milwaukee and Detroit.
For more information on how wipes are impacting our sewer systems please click the following link ** Using A.I. to Recover Energy From Wastewater  (https://www.anl.gov/article/using-artificial-intelligence-to-recover-energy-nutrients-and-freshwater-from-municipal-wastewater)
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Urban Growers Collective teaches divested communities how to grow farm food locally

Many of Chicago’s divested communities lack viable access to fruits and vegetables. The folks at Urban Growers Collective are teaching those communities how to grow fruits and vegetables at several farms around the city.

Urban Growers operate eight “urban farms” across the city in neighborhoods such as South Chicago, Bridgeport, and Riverdale’s Altgeld Gardens and Phillip Murray Homes, a housing project long known for being a symbol for environmental racism nicknamed the “toxic doughnut,” according to a Chicago Sun-Times report.

Each site operates “production-oriented” farms where Urban Growers staff members offer educational opportunities for leadership development, training and food distribution. Each farm exposes communities, adults and teens, to organic growing methods, growing practices and year-round production strategies.
For more information on how Urban Growers Collective teaches communities how to grow vegetables at several farms around the city please click the following link ** Urban Growers Teach Local Communities (https://chicago.suntimes.com/doing-well/2021/5/11/22423282/urban-farmers-collective-laurell-sims-south-chicago-plants-herbs-marshall-mitchell-greens-spinach)
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Connecting Youth to Summer Jobs in Chicago
Apply today! Connecting Youth to a Successful Future with a Summer Job in Chicago. One Summer Chicago brings together government institutions, community-based organizations and companies to offer over 20,000 employment and internship opportunities to youth and young adults ages 14 to 24.

For more information please click on the following link ** One Summer Chicago (http://www.onesummerchicago.org/)
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Cook County Covid-19 Vaccinations
Cook County Government, Cook County Health and Cook County Department of Public Health are pleased to offer COVID-19 vaccinations to those living or working in Cook County.

Sign up to receive:
* Updates on the Vaccine and the Community Vaccination Program
* Notification for when vaccine administration is open to your phase
* Information on scheduling a vaccine appointment through Cook County Health
* Information on vaccine distribution locations throughout Cook County

For more information please click on the following link ** Cook County Vaccinations (https://vaccine.cookcountyil.gov/)
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MWRD Virtual Tour
JOIN US FOR A VIRTUAL TOUR EXPERIENCE!

Travel back in time to early Chicago to see how we reversed the Chicago River and developed wastewater treatment technology. Go behind the scenes and under water to see how we transform the water you use every day; descend 300 feet into the deep tunnel system, and watch our electrofishing crew at work sampling fish on the Chicago River.

Date: Tuesday, June 15, 2021
Time: 10AM  – 11:15AM
Location:
https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJ0kfuqtqzIoHdJIJprPnquk-JJo8s-R7Ld_
MWRD Small Streams Maintenance Program
The Small Stream Maintenance Program is one of MWRD's little know programs. If left unattended, this debris could cause stream blockages and lead to flooding. Please help be our eyes by reporting blockages and debris in streams at ** https://gispub.mwrd.org/ssmp/ (https://gispub.mwrd.org/ssmp/?fbclid=IwAR2qzfZOCqc2nNJ-GTHzqS4DZ5uOUq3EB6u_NikmXvG8OxCSQB0M7j68U74)
or call (312) 787-3575.
Free Compost for Pick Up!
** (https://mwrd.org/eq-compost)
Click photo for more information on MWRD's compost programs
Free Fun Water Education Resources!
Home looking for things for the kids to do? Check out MWRD’s free and fun activities and resources available on our ** website (https://mwrd.org/k-12)
. There you’ll find lots of fun ways to learn about MWRD and how to protect our water and the environment. Materials are available in both English and Spanish. Print, use, learn and enjoy!
MWRD Storybook & Animation for Children

Have you ever wondered what happens after you flush the toilet?

The new MWRD publication and animated video "Where does IT Go?" tells the story of three young water explorers who travel in a magical ship through MWRD pipes, sewers and tanks that are used to clean dirty water. Interspersed throughout the storybook are photos of actual equipment and processes described in the story.
Download a copy of this storybook by clicking on the following link  ** Where does IT Go (Storybook) (https://mwrd.org/sites/default/files/documents/WhereDoesItGo_200921.pdf)
and ** Where does IT Go (Animation) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ed_kMwLK9q8)
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Green Explorers Club "Project Boxes"
Green Explorers Club teaches kids the tools of sustainability while building a healthy curiosity for life sciences and the environment. They explore sustainability through hands-on experiments and activities that demonstrate the importance of taking care of our planet. They take kids out into nature and explore the world hands-on through experience.

However, for kids who want to try
Green Explorers Club at home, or families who do not live close to their Chicago location, their project boxes are the next best thing. Every project box contains activities used in their studio with the fantastic kids who join their camps and classes every year. Their project boxes are designed for kids ages 4-9 years.

For more information about the Green Explorers Club and their Project Boxes please click on the following link ** Project Boxes (https://greenexplorersclub.com/pages/project-boxes-3/)
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Employment Opportunities at MWRD
Current Positions

Financial Analyst - Annual Salary $90,445.94

** Online Employment Center Link  (https://www.jobapscloud.com/mwrd/)
Upcoming Events
Click Link to see ** Community Events (https://mwrd.org/events)
Contact Information
Our mailing address is:

Metropolitan Water Reclamation District
Commissioner Kimberly Du Buclet
100 East Erie Street
Chicago, IL 60611

Phone Number
312-751-5086
** Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/Kim4Water )
** Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/KIM4MWRD/)
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