Each year water supply systems test for drinking water quality parameters, established by the Illinois EPA and US EPA to protect public health. Along with every public water supply in the United States, the City of Highland Park publishes an annual report, the Consumer Confidence Report (CCR). Read the current CCR here.
The annual CCR only details the detected results of water quality monitoring over the previous year. Any contaminant that was not detected is not added to the CCR but is submitted to the Illinois EPA. All water quality monitoring results can be found on the IEPA's Drinking Water Watch website. Any contaminant that the City of Highland Park tested for, and those results, can be found there.
To read previous CCRs please visit our archived CCRs here.
To find out if you have a lead, copper, or galvanized steel service on your property, you (or your landlord) can perform a Materials Verification Test on the water service line where it enters your home to determine the material of the water service line on your property. Please watch this short YouTube instructional video on determining your service line material.
Source Water Protection Week, September 24-30, 2023
The American Water Works Association is declaring September 24-30 the third annual Source Water Protection Week. The best way to ensure high quality drinking water at the tap is to protect our precious water sources. If we keep our lakes, rivers, and underground wells free from pollution, it is easier and less expensive to keep water safe and healthy.
Please join the City of Highland Park in supporting Source Water Protection Week.
For more information about water visit www.drinktap.org.
Imagine a Day without Water, October 20, 2023
We take clean potable water for granted! Turn on the tap, and potable drinking water flows out. We hardly think twice about the infrastructure that brings water to homes, but we should. The reality is, nationwide, water infrastructure system is aging and failing. Over the past few years, the City has upgraded its water plant to an Ultra-Filtration Membrane Plant, installed new water meters along with an automatic meter reading system, and replaced and upsized miles of water mains. While most Americans cannot imagine a day without water, there are many communities that have lived, and are living, without water because they don’t have access to safe and reliable water systems.
A day without water is a public health and safety crisis. It means no water to shower or flush the toilet, no water to drink or cook with, and no water to do laundry or dishes. Hospitals would close without water. Firefighters couldn't put out fires and farmers couldn't water their crops. Our water infrastructure supports every facet of our daily lives, but our water infrastructure is facing incredible challenges. Demographic and climate pressures such as increased natural disasters, drought, flooding, and wildfire, threaten our infrastructure and increase the possibility of a day without water.
On October 20, 2023 the City of Highland Park, along with hundreds of organizations around the country, will participate in Imagine a Day without Water, an annual nationwide day of education and advocacy about the value of water. For more information please visit http://thevalueofwater.org/ and http://imagineadaywithoutwater.org/.
Fix a Leak Week, March 18-24, 2024
Because minor water leaks account for more than 1 trillion gallons of water wasted each year in U.S. homes, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's WaterSense program promotes Fix a Leak Week during the third week of March each year. Fix a Leak Week is an annual reminder to Americans to check household plumbing fixtures and irrigation systems for leaks.
For more information, please visit our Fixing Water Leaks website.
World Water Day, March 22, 2024
World Water Day is held annually on March 22 as a means of focusing attention on the importance of water. This year, the focus of the UN observance is on accelerating change to solve the water and sanitation crisis.
Back in 2015, the world committed to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 as part of the 2030 Agenda – the promise that everyone would have safely managed water and sanitation by 2030.
Right now, we are seriously off-track. Billions of people and countless schools, businesses, healthcare centers, farms, and factories are being held back because their human rights to water and sanitation have not yet been fulfilled.
We need to accelerate change – to go beyond ‘business as usual’
Governments have to work on average four times faster to meet SDG 6 on time, but this is not a situation that governments can solve on their own.
Water affects everyone, so we need everyone to take action. You and your family, school, and community can make a difference by changing the way you use, consume, and manage water in your life. Be the change you want to see in the world. This World Water Day on March 22, remember that water is our most precious resource and we must value it. For more information, please visit www.worldwaterday.org.
Drinking Water Week, May 5-11, 2024
A safe, reliable water supply is critical to the success of any economy. It creates jobs, attracts industry and investment, and provides for the health and welfare of citizens in ways ranging from disease prevention to fire suppression. We often take water supply for granted until it is threatened by drought, water main breaks, or some other event. For more than 40 years, the American Water Works Association and its members have celebrated Drinking Water Week, a unique opportunity for both water professionals and the communities they serve to join together to recognize the vital role water plays in our daily lives.
Please join the City of Highland Park in supporting Drinking Water Week.
For more information about water visit www.drinktap.org.
July is Smart Irrigation Month
Please join Highland Park in recognizing July as Smart Irrigation Month, an Irrigation Association initiative to promote the social, economic and environmental benefits of efficient irrigation technologies, products, and services in landscape, turf, and agricultural irrigation. Educate yourself, promote awareness, but most importantly take action in your own life with proper irrigation. Effective irrigation saves water and dollars. To learn more, visit the City’s Water Conservation information page for tips on saving water outdoors.
Peak Season Facts, Late July through August
• Summer’s rising temperatures often coincide with rising water use. “Peak” water use describes the time of year when residential water use is at its highest due to an increase in outdoor water use, usually from late July through August. In most areas, the amount of water homeowners use to keep their lawns green or fill their backyard pools will spike during this season to the tune of about four times as much water or more than they usually use the rest of the year!
• The average American home uses about 260 gallons of water per day. During peak season, homes can use about 1,000 gallons of water in a day. Some homes use as much as 3,000 gallons on a peak day, or the equivalent of leaving garden hose running for nearly 8 hours!
• When temperatures rise and rain is scarce, peak water use in single-family homes typically occurs due to lawn and garden watering or when topping off a swimming pool.
• Experts estimate that 50 percent of the water we use outdoors goes to waste from evaporation or runoff due to overwatering.
• With the exception of extreme heat waves, peak use typically occurs on weekends as many people use their free time to tend to lawns and landscapes, do laundry, and wash cars.
Visit the City of Highland Park's Water Conservation Website to learn some simple tips on how to save water outdoors during peak season.
For more information on the City of Highland Park's Sprinkling Restrictions, which is effective from May 15 until September 15 of each calendar year, please go to Sprinkling Restrictions.
For more information on water sciences and knowledge, please visit the American Water Works Association webpage.
National Water Quality Month - Source Water Protection
August is National Water Quality Month and water quality begins with our source waters, rivers, lakes, and ground water. It is important that we each do our part to protect our water supplies and keep our waterways clean for all living things so that we can continue to enjoy them for consumption and recreation. Protection of drinking water is everyone’s responsibility. You can help protect Highland Park’s drinking water source in several ways:
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Please do not litter - always throw your trash away in a trash can or recycle bin. When debris such as plastic bags, bottles, containers, and cigarette butts is thrown on the ground, it gets washed into storm drains and directly into our waterways. Litter is one of the most unsightly forms of pollution in our local waterways and can easily be prevented. Most litter can be recycled, which not only protects the environment but saves our natural resources.
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Follow directions on pesticide and fertilizer labels. These products contain hazardous chemicals that can reach your drinking water source. If you apply pesticides to plants properly, they can have a minimal impact to the environment. Take care to not overfertilize and never apply fertilizers before a heavy rainfall. Be sure to sweep off driveways, sidewalks, and roads so that chemicals will not get into storm drains.
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Clean up after your pets. Do not let pet waste wash into storm drains. Scooping up and throwing away pet waste is a simple thing all responsible pet owners can do to help keep our water and environment clean.
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Dispose of used oil motor properly. Improper disposal of used oil, which includes oil leaking from cars, contributes significantly to stormwater pollution. The City recommends either having your oil changed at a facility where they properly dispose of it or taking your used oil to a service station, auto parts store, or quick lube facility where they will have it recycled/re-refined. Never, ever dump oil in the trash or down a storm drain where it will pollute water and soil.
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Use a car wash. Something to consider during National Water Quality month is the effect that washing our cars can have on our waterways. Car wash water and rinse water contain a mixture of detergents, oils, heavy metals, and other pollutants that wash off of our vehicles. This soapy, polluted water is untreated and can enter our waterways though storm drains. A better option is to take your car to a commercial car wash facility that discharges its wash water to the sewer system where it's treated before being discharged into waterways. When washing your car at home, park it on the lawn (or other vegetated area) to keep the soapy water out of the storm drain. Mild, soapy water won’t hurt your lawn; it will actually water it!
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Dispose of old prescription drugs properly. Unused or expired medications should never be flushed down the toilet. Help keep prescription drugs out of the water supply by participating in the Prescription Pill and Drug Disposal Program of Highland Park. This program helps residents to dispose of unused or expired prescription drugs and over the counter medications in an environmentally safe way. The public can drop off prescription drugs in a mailbox-shaped receptacle in the foyer of the Highland Park Police Department located at 1677 Old Deerfield Road, 24 hours a day.
For more information, see the US EPA’s website on Trash-Free Waters and Storm Water Runoff.
