Watershed Planning Support System for the Lake Michigan Coast

Communities in the Lake Michigan watershed

In Chicago, along the coast of Lake Michigan, the effects of urbanization can be seen in the rising number of impaired streams, increased stream bank erosion, and intensifying nonpoint source pollution. With forecasts of almost one million new households to be built in the watershed within the next three decades, this trend is unlikely to change unless effective land use plans are developed and used to protect coastal and water resources.

One challenge for decision makers who face this task is how to get a clear picture of current conditions on which to base their plans and actions. Available models could provide some of the needed analysis, but their technical complexity and cost place them out of reach of most municipalities. In addition, information on current conditions is housed in different governmental and non-governmental offices across the region.

With a grant from CICEET, a project team from the University of Illinois is applying dynamic spatial simulation technologies, water quality and quantity modeling, and web-based information retrieval approaches to create a watershed planning support system (WPSS) for the Lake Michigan watershed. The WPSS will provide planners with the capacity to inventory existing resources and create land use change scenarios and their predicted impacts on water and natural resources.

The project team is working closely with the Lake Michigan Watershed Ecosystem Partnership, the Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant Program, and the University of Illinois to ensure that the WPSS will be accessible and effective for use by local officials, planners, developers and environmental groups within the watershed. In addition to an online training module, the project team will also develop and conduct multiple workshops throughout the region on the mechanics of the WPSS interface and how the tool can be used for watershed scale planning analysis.