Air & Water

Mission:  Reduce air and water pollution within Edgewater/Andersonville, while educating the community on good stewardship practices for clean air and water.  
  • EESP will continue encourage actions by individuals, business and the government to reduce the amount of water used and the amount discharged to the sewer system.
  • Through grass roots efforts we will identify the sources of air toxins and particulates; and promote methods for individuals and businesses to maintain clean air and reduce the ozone level.
  • Meetings and presentations will give topical information and provoke discussion and input on how each person can work to improve air and water quality
  • These actions can have a direct affect on the health of residents.
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EPA Illinois: Information Regarding Lead in Water Systems
EPA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention believe there is no safe level of lead exposure. Lead is harmful to health, especially for children. While paint, dust, and soil are the most common sources of lead, drinking water can contribute 40 to 60 percent of an infant's lead exposure.
The goal is to remove as much lead from your drinking water as possible.
Chicagoans concerned about lead in their drinking water have a number of options to help reduce the amount of lead in their drinking water.
  • Have your water tested. Many public water systems will test drinking water for residents upon request. Chicago residents can call 311 for information. You can also check the State of Illinois' drinking water website Exit  for a list of laboratories certified to analyze for lead.
  • Be aware of any work that could disturb your lead service line, such as water main replacement, lead service line repair or replacement of part of the service line.
  • Run water before use if it has not been used for several hours. The amount of time to run the water will depend on whether the home has a lead service line or not.
  • Use only cold water for drinking, cooking, and preparing baby formula.
  • Purchase a water filter that is certified to remove "total lead."
  • On a regular basis clean and remove any debris from faucet aerators to clear out any particles of lead that may become trapped in the aerator.
  • Purchase lead-free faucets and plumbing components.
  • Remove the entire lead service line.
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Committee Members of Water and Air Resources                                                             \
Name                                   Email                                                                  
Tom Murphy                         tjm2040@rcn.com
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Report from NOAA on the Global Sea Level (Released October, 2019)
Global sea level has been rising over the past century, and the rate has increased in recent decades. In 2014, global sea level was 2.6 inches above the 1993 average—the highest annual average in the satellite record (1993-present). Sea level continues to rise at a rate of about one-eighth of an inch per year.
Higher sea levels mean that deadly and destructive storm surges push farther inland than they once did, which also means more frequent nuisance flooding. Disruptive and expensive, nuisance flooding is estimated to be from 300 percent to 900 percent more frequent within U.S. coastal communities than it was just 50 years ago.
The two major causes of global sea level rise are thermal expansion caused by warming of the ocean (since water expands as it warms) and increased melting of land-based ice, such as glaciers and ice sheets. The oceans are absorbing more than 90 percent of the increased atmospheric heat associated with emissions from human activity. 
With continued ocean and atmospheric warming, sea levels will likely rise for many centuries at rates higher than that of the current century.  In the United States, almost 40 percent of the population lives in relatively high-population-density coastal areas, where sea level plays a role in flooding, shoreline erosion, and hazards from storms. Globally, eight of the world's 10 largest cities are near a coast, according to the U.N. Atlas of the Oceans.
Sea level rise at specific locations may be more or less than the global average due to local factors such as land subsidence from natural processes and withdrawal of groundwater and fossil fuels, changes in regional ocean currents, and whether the land is still rebounding from the compressive weight of Ice Age glaciers. In urban settings, rising seas threaten infrastructure necessary for local jobs and regional industries. Roads, bridges, subways, water supplies, oil and gas wells, power plants, sewage treatment plants, landfills—virtually all human infrastructure—is at risk from sea level rise.

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