Sign up now for watershed meeting Feb. 10
Community members in southeastern McHenry County are invited to attend a day or evening meeting on Thursday, Feb. 10 to learn more about how local planning and preserving natural areas and open space can help protect the water resources.
Natural areas can help keep water where it falls, reduce stormwater pollution, and replenish the groundwater used for drinking water supply.
Natural areas and open space can also help prevent community flooding, provide habitat for wildlife, enhance quality of life for communities, provide recreational opportunities, and many other benefits.
Community planning that supports protections for open space and natural areas is an important tool for protecting water quality.
Attendees will learn about a local planning initiative at the city of Crystal Lake to preserve open space and natural areas. Meeting participants also will discuss the role that existing and new green planning initiatives, such as proactive stormwater management, can play in protecting and improving water quality.
The Silver Creek / Sleepy Hollow Creek Watershed Planning Meeting will discuss "Natural Places and Local Planning to Protect Our Water Resources" from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 10 at the Crystal Lake Municipal Complex, P105/106 Training Room, 100 W. Woodstock St., Crystal Lake.
Community members that are not able to attend daytime meetings can participate in an evening meeting (same date and location).
An update on the watershed planning process will be presented and attendees are encouraged to provide input related to community priorities and concerns. Evening meeting participants will also learn about City of Crystal Lake green initiatives.
The evening meeting on "Watershed Planning Update and Natural Places and Local Planning to Protect Our Water Resources" will be from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Thursday, Feb. 10 in the Crystal Lake City Council Chambers, 100 W. Woodstock St., Crystal Lake.
Please RSVP to watershedinfo@mcdefenders.net or (815) 338-0393 by Tuesday, Feb. 8 and identify which meeting you plan to attend. For more information and planning updates, visit foxriverecosystem.org/planning.htm.
These meetings are part of an initiative to develop watershed plans for the Silver Creek and Sleepy Hollow Creek watersheds. A watershed is an area of land that drains water into a common receiving body or outlet such as a stream.
Communities within these watersheds include Oakwood Hills, Prairie Grove, and portions of Bull Valley, Cary, Crystal Lake, and McHenry. Portions of Nunda Township, Algonquin Township, and unincorporated McHenry County are also within the watershed planning areas.
Watershed planning is a collaborative, community-supported approach to protecting and improving water quality in lakes and streams, restoring healthy aquatic habitat, addressing groundwater protections, preventing community flooding, and other water resource-related challenges. Planning participants from local communities are working together to identify planning goals and priority projects to protect water resources in ways that more closely match the flow of water through our local landscapes.
Community members who live, work, or play in the Silver Creek or Sleepy Hollow Creek Watersheds are encouraged to attend one of these meetings.
Planning meetings are coordinated by The Environmental Defenders of McHenry County and the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning. Additional day and evening meetings will be held in the watersheds through December 2011. All meetings are open to the public.
These planning projects are funded by Section 604(b) of the Clean Water Act by way of a grant from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, Bureau of Water, to the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning. Watershed planning oversight is the responsibility of CMAP. Planning Partners include the Environmental Defenders of McHenry County, Fox River Ecosystem Partnership, and the Fox River Study Group.