DNR: Illinois losing too much Lake Michigan water

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources wants to change permit regulations for local communities that use Lake Michigan water. The proposal is an effort to document and slow the loss of lake water.

The agency says leaky pipes and insufficient outdoor water-use standards are just some of the problems among the more than 200 Illinois communities that use Lake Michigan water. The leaks result in a loss of at least 26 billions of gallons of water per year.

The DNR wants to begin collecting better information about water loss and modernize permit conditions on water rate-setting and metering.

A report released Tuesday by the Metropolitan Planning Council supports the state's proposal and recommends the elimination of an exemption that allows some leakage to go unreported.