Flooding Preparedness

Heavy rains in Northern Cook County and throughout the Chicagoland area have brought about incidents of flooding with storm and sanitary sewer back-ups in unincorporated and incorporated areas. The following recommendations are a few simple steps to minimize health hazards due to flooding: Floodwaters can be very powerful. Streams, creeks, rivers, and areas of standing […]

Read more...

Winter Preparedness

Winter storms can bring snow, sleet, and freezing rain across the entire United States and its territories.  Thousands of people are injured or killed every year in traffic accidents related to slippery roads from winter storms.  Extremely cold air comes every winter in at least part of the country and affect millions of people across […]

Read more...

Open Burning

Part of autumn that many in the Midwest have come to reminisce is the smell of burning leaves broadcasting thru the countryside. However, burning leaves and other landscape materials may be regulated thru local municipalities, as written by the Illinois Environmental Protection agency “It depends on the local laws and ordinances as units of local […]

Read more...

Electronic Recycling

Since 1999, SWANCC has provided environmentally responsible recycling for end of life computers and electronics.  According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA.gov) – since the late 1990s, electronics or E-Waste has been the fastest-growing component of the municipal waste stream.  Additionally, the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC.org) cautions that some of the materials […]

Read more...

Roadway History

The 1785 Land Ordinance passed under the US Articles of Confederation was intended to provide a means of raising money for the US government through the sale of the land west of the original 13 colonies. Since the area was largely unmapped a system for mapping and subdividing the land had to be devised. The […]

Read more...

Household Waste

Water is the foundation for everything we do throughout life.  It is used for recreation, economic development and of course human existence.  However, not much of the water on the Earth is fit for consumption.  Ninety seven percent of the Earth’s water is salt water, while the rest is frozen in glaciers or polluted.  In […]

Read more...

Small Stream Maintenance Program

To reduce flooding in urbanized areas through immediate and relatively simple remedies is the mission statement of the Small Streams Maintenance Program (SSMP) of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD).  Since it began in 2006, dedicated crews have provided a valuable service by removing debris from creeks, streams and waterways.  The success […]

Read more...