Brunch to celebrate Environmental Defenders' 45th anniversary

The Environmental Defenders of McHenry County invite the public to celebrate its 45th anniversary. The brunch event will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, March 8, at Loyola University's Retreat and Ecology Campus at 2710 S. Country Club Road, Woodstock.

Tickets are $30 for members and $55 for nonmembers, which includes the price of a one-year membership. Guests may attend just the program portion of the event for free, but RSVPs are requested.

Scott Meyer, a hydrogeologist at the Illinois State Water Survey at the University of Illinois, will be presenting his program, "The Future of McHenry County's Groundwater Resources." Meyer and his colleagues mapped water levels from 329 McHenry County wells in 1994 and again in 2011. They also constructed a computer model to simulate groundwater flow from over 8,700 wells, showing the impacts of water supply usage based on various scenarios of pumping to the year 2050. Meyer will share information from this study and fascinating modeling indicating McHenry County water supplies may not suffice into the future without wise decision-making regarding water supply development.

A report on the study, "Groundwater Simulation Modeling and Potentiometric Surface Mapping, McHenry County, IL" is available on the ISWS website: isws.illinois.edu/pubdoc/CR/ISWSCR2013-06.pdf.

To purchase tickets for this event or to RSVP for the program only, visit www.mcdef.org. Tickets must be purchased by Sunday, March 1.

The Environmental Defenders of McHenry County is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation and improvement of the environment. The group provides community residents with educational programs and volunteer action on pollution prevention, sustainable land use and energy and natural resource conservation. Donations are encouraged and are tax-deductible as charitable contributions. For information, visit www.mcdef.org or call (815) 338-0393.