In a room packed with WEFTEC attendees, Mayor Richard M. Daley of Chicago culminated a special session on infrastructure and sustainability on Monday with an overview of how the city of Chicago has been an active environmental leader, demonstrating to the world that nature and urban areas can in fact coexist.
Mayor Daley highlighted some of the city’s environmental initiatives, such as the recently unveiled Chicago Climate Action Plan as well as the Great Lakes Compact, the Deep Tunnel Project and the Green Alleys Program, which is rebuilding the city’s 1,900 miles of back alleys with permeable pavement to allow storm water to seep through the pavement into the ground rather than entering the city’s sewage system.
The city of Chicago also is enacting a new storm water ordinance that encourages developers to use green building techniques to manage storm water on site, as well as water conservation efforts that encourage residents to conserve water with opportunities such as the rain barrel program.
Mayor Daley also stressed the importance of replacing the city’s aging infrastructure, which is reaching the end of its lifespan. He urged the new U.S. President to invest adequate funds to infrastructure—including water, roads and bridges—to maintain the U.S. economy and to allow our country to compete on a global level.
Source: WWD, WQP and SWS Staff
