Bill Text: IL SR2366 | 2015-2016 | 99th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Declares December 4-10, 2016 as "Illinois Groundwater Awareness Week".
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2016-12-01 - Resolution Adopted [SR2366 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2015-SR2366-Introduced.html
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1 | SENATE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, More than half of Illinois residents receive their
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3 | water from groundwater wells; this makes Illinois groundwater a
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4 | valuable natural resource that needs to be protected; and
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5 | WHEREAS, Next to breathable air, groundwater may be the
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6 | most important resource necessary for human life; and
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7 | WHEREAS, Agricultural irrigation is the single largest use
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8 | of groundwater, nourishing much of the produce and livestock
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9 | that fills our grocery stores; and
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10 | WHEREAS, Groundwater can be found beneath the surface
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11 | virtually anywhere, making it possible to live in rural or even
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12 | remote places where public water systems do not exist; and
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13 | WHEREAS, Groundwater makes it possible for ecosystems
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14 | teeming with life to exist as it supplies plants and animals
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15 | with life-giving water and often meets critical water needs in
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16 | the midst of drought because of its abundance beneath the
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17 | surface of the earth; and
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18 | WHEREAS, The National Ground Water Association (NGWA) and
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19 | the Illinois Association of Groundwater Professionals (IAGP)
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20 | encourages annual water well checkups in the spring before the
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1 | peak water use season begins; and
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2 | WHEREAS, An abandoned well as defined by the Illinois Water
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3 | Well Construction Code is a water or monitoring well which is | ||||||
4 | no
longer used to supply water, or which is in such a state of
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5 | disrepair that the well or boring has the potential for
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6 | transmitting contaminants into an aquifer or otherwise | ||||||
7 | threatens
the public health or safety; furthermore, the code | ||||||
8 | requires that an abandoned well be properly sealed within 30 | ||||||
9 | days after it
is abandoned and no longer used; and
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10 | WHEREAS, IAGP encourages the Illinois Department of Public
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11 | Health and local units of government to identify the number and
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12 | location of abandoned wells; educate communities for the need
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13 | for building demolition policies and procedures to include
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14 | inspection for abandoned wells; provide evaluation processes | ||||||
15 | to
determine appropriateness of a well for non-potable use; | ||||||
16 | support
annual inspections by local government of well | ||||||
17 | non-potable use;
build awareness and raise funds to provide | ||||||
18 | help and support well
sealing; and recognize private wells as a | ||||||
19 | viable means to reduce
and conserve potable water for | ||||||
20 | non-potable use; therefore, be it
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21 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL | ||||||
22 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we designate December | ||||||
23 | 4-10, 2016 "Illinois Groundwater Awareness Week"; and be it |
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1 | further
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2 | RESOLVED, That we urge the citizens of Illinois to observe | ||||||
3 | the week by learning more about groundwater and its importance | ||||||
4 | to lives and act in ways that value and protect the resource.
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