Planning and Development - Division of Water Resources

Water Links - General

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Indoor Water Conservation

Products that Meet WaterSense criteria for water efficiency and performance
Making Water Efficiency Easy
American Water Works Association - Water Audit Software
Purdue University - Water Use and Septic System Performance
Grace Communications Foundation - Water Footprint Calculator

Outdoor Water Conservation

Rain Gardens

Native Landscaping and Xeriscaping

Native Landscaping

Xeriscaping

Xeriscaping - Water Wise Gardening

Ecological Gardening

Parking Lot and Sidewalk De-Icing

Storm Water

Help prevent stormwater pollution this winter!

Winter brings with it lots of fun activities, like sledding, ice skating and skiing. But winter also means mounds of snow to shovel and layers of ice to remove from our sidewalks and driveways. We often make the job easier by applying deicers like salt. Besides sodium chloride, many deicers also contain chemicals like cyanide. When ice melts, the salts and chemicals dissolve and flow into street drains that lead directly to the river, endangering aquatic life.

There are two approaches to reducing stormwater pollution from household salt use:

Try an alternative!
Road salt alternatives
Reduce your salt use.
By limiting the amount of salt we use on sidewalks and driveways, we can reduce the amount of polluted stormwater washing into our waterways. The most important step in deicing is to physically remove as much ice as possible before applying salt. Use a shovel to break up the ice before you add another layer of salt to your sidewalk. Adding more salt without removing what has melted can result in over application, meaning more salt and chemicals end up in the river. You can also reduce salt use by limiting access to your home entrance. For every doorway that is not used, there will be less salt running into the catch basin in your street.

Parking Lot and Sidewalk De-icing Recommendations
How Salt-Based Deicers Harm Pets and Children
Winter Deicing Agents for the Homeowner Information on deicers and how they affect plants is covered here.

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Recycling and Hazardous Materials Disposal

Pollution Prevention At Home

Recycling

Facilities for Disposal

The following long-term facilities are available to all Illinois residents for disposal of HCW. Please phone the long-term facilities ahead to determine availability and open hours.

Chicago's permanent Household Chemicals & Computer Recycling Facility	Rockford Rock River Reclamation District
Cook County	3333 Kishwaukee
Goose Island	8:00 am - 4:00 pm Sat
1150 N Branch Street	12:00 pm - 4:00 pm Sun
Operated by the City of Chicago and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) Call (312)744-7606 for more information.	NO LATEX PAINT Call for details at (815) 387-7400
Tuesdays: 7:00 am to 12:00 pm Thursdays: 2:00 pm to 7:00 pm 1st Saturday of month: 8:00 am to 3:00 pm	Naperville Fire Station #41971 Brookdale Road
Accepts Household Chemical Waste Accepts computer materials Hosts a free latex paint swap Accepts propane tanks, fire extinguishers and smoke detectors at this location	9:00 am - 2:00 pm Saturday and Sunday NO LATEX PAINT Call for details at (630) 420-4190

Medication Disposal

Numerous village halls and police departments across the county. Contact your local municipality for further information.
Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products (PPCPs)

Illinois Poison Center - Recommendations for Disposal of Unwanted or Expired Medication

In response to environmental concerns the Illinois Poison Center has developed new guidelines for the disposal of old or unused medication. The proper removal of medicine from the home will help prevent accidental poisoning for children and family members, decrease drug diversion or abuse of certain medications and lessen the negative impact of pharmaceuticals on the environment. Over the past several years, studies have shown the presence of drugs such as antibiotics, hormones and cardiac medications among others in our nation's waterways. Water treatment plants are unable to remove these compounds before they reach the environment. The majority of this contamination is most likely due to the natural excretion of the medication or its metabolized by-products from individuals taking the drug. Another significant source of environmental contamination is the amount of antibiotics and hormones given to livestock (e.g., cattle, pigs or poultry). While flushing unused medications may be a small part of this emerging environmental concern, it is a key behavior that can be easily modified.

Medicine Disposal Guidelines:

Where available, take expired or unwanted medications to an approved medication disposal site in your community. You may call you local health department or other government agency to find the locations.
If a medication disposal program is not available in the area, the unwanted or expired medicine may be thrown away in the trash:
- Liquids should be poured over paper towels, kitty litter, or coffee grounds and tightly wrapped in sealable or watertight containers or bags.
- Solids (pills, capsules, tablets) may be mixed with undesirable substances such as coffee grounds or kitty litter so that they are less likely to be eaten. Place the mixture into a sealable or water tight container or bag. When these medicines are placed in the trash, be sure to place them in an inaccessible location to minimize the chance of accidental poisoning of children and pets.
Never flush medications down the toilet!