Addressing, adapting to Chicago's water system needs

In the last decade, I have led the Chicago Department of Water Management twice. When I returned in 2024 after leaving in 2020, I saw how much the work of this urban water utility had changed.Our mission remains the same: providing safe, high-quality drinking water and maintaining the infrastructure Chicagoans depend on. But our city’s challenges have changed, and our work must change with them.Today, we face more intense rainfall, localized flooding, aging infrastructure and a historic effort to remove lead service lines. Meeting these challenges requires rethinking what a modern water utility must do.This summer’s extraordinary rainfall exposed the limitations of infrastructure built over generations in an increasingly developed city. When heavy rain overwhelms sewers, the consequences include flooded streets, basement backups and property damage.That is why the Department of Water Management is exploring new approaches to stormwater management. Through a partnership with the Metropo