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Josh Ellis »

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Immeasurable Loss: Recapping an Important Conversation
It's been an exciting week here at MPC. Last Tuesday we released Immeasurable Loss: Modernizing Lake Michigan Water Use, which details research findings and policy recommendations in support of the Ill. Dept. of Natural Resources' efforts to improve water resources management in northeastern…
Updates to Ill. Plumbing Code out for public comment: A future for non-potable water reuse
Whether you are trying to conserve potable (drinkable) water or manage some of the rain that falls on your property, non-potable water re-use is a valuable tool to have at your disposal. Rain, graywater, air conditioning condensate and reclaimed effluent are all good enough for non-potable uses…
Dispatches from Germany: Three Things I Learned Today
For the week of April 22-26, MPC's Josh Ellis is on a tour of water, wastewater, and stormwater industries and utilities with the German American Chamber of Commerce's Midwest office. Stopping in Berlin, Hamburg, and Frankfurt, the group is attending trade shows, visiting treatment plants, swining…
Separation Anxiety, Part 6
This is the latest in the Separation Anxiety series, detailing Josh Ellis' reactions and reflections as an advisory committee member for the Great Lakes Commission and Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative's Restoring the Natural Divide: Separating the Great Lakes and Mississippi River…
The best part of National Walk to Work Day? Walking home
This Friday, April 5, is National Walk to Work Day, and with Chicago area weather predicted to be sunny and cool (but not cold), all you'll need is a hat, a bottle of water (but not bottled water), and a plan of how to get from A to B. There are clearly lots of benefits to walking in general, and…
A Most Effluent Adventure
A couple of weekends ago I skied on sewage and lived to tell the tale… Up in the western Maine woods the Carrabassett Valley Sanitary District converts sewage into effluent (they call it Snowfluent), and then rather than just dump it in the nearby river (which is what would normally…
Putting the Infrastructure in Green Infrastructure
The term "green infrastructure" troubles me a bit. I think it's because it often seems to me that the "green" part gets a lot more attention than the "infrastructure" part, when in reality it's that latter half of the term that is probably more important. I think most people working in stormwater…
How soon is now? The future of water reuse becomes reality at an Oak Park home
MPC Research Assistant Matt Nichols authored this post. Many people report that their best ideas come to them in the shower. In the case of Oak Park, Ill., homeowners Ana Garcia-Doyle and Jim Doyle, their great idea was the shower itself. Or more specifically, the thousands of gallons of water…
Rain Check: Regional Solutions to Stormwater Management
MPC Research Assistant Matt Nichols authored this post Imagine a Chicago where a long-polluted river serves as a genuine second waterfront for residents to enjoy. Think of what could be possible if every property owner captured and re-used the thousands of gallons of rain water that falls on…
This is what 100-year-old pipes look like
As a I rode into work the other day on State Street, I noticed several large holes in the street, lots of large equipment, and plenty of workers diligently digging up some of Chicago's thousands upon thousands of miles of pipe (couldn't tell if it was water, gas, or sewer from the bus). When I got…

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