Abstract
It is vital for Illinois to provide citizens and industries sustainable and affordable clean water for the present and the future. As a state, it is of importance to understand the future water demand, water supply, associated cost to provide and convey water, cost and impact of wastewater effluents. Well-designed state and regional water supply planning is a valuable tool to ensure sustainable water sources in the future for the entire state. The Governor’s Executive Order 2006-01, authorized the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) to lead state and regional water-supply planning activities. Since 2006, The Illinois State Water Survey (ISWS) has been working closely with the IDNR to conduct scientific analysis of water demand and water availability in Illinois.
The entire state is divided into 10 water supply planning regions with Northeastern Illinois and East-Central Illinois as the top priority region. For water supply planning studies in each region, groundwater models are developed to assess the impact of the past and future withdrawal on groundwater levels and determine the sustainable withdrawal rate. The Illinois Streamflow Accounting Modelling (ILSAM) is developed to analyze surface water availability under various climate conditions and the impact of surface water withdrawals and wastewater effluents. Water demand is analyzed and projected based on available population, water use, socioeconomic, and climatic data.
Bio
Zhenxing is the Water Supply Hydrologist with the Illinois State Water Survey, Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, focusing on surface water supply, hydrologic modelling, stochastic hydrology, and water-energy nexus. Zhenxing holds a Ph.D degree in water resources engineering from the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY ESF).
He is a licensed Professional Engineer (P.E) with extensive experience on water supply, water resources/environment planning and management, hydrologic modeling with years of experiences working for the Susquehanna River Basin Commission and Pennsylvania State University before he joined in the Illinois State Water Survey. He is the president-elect of the American Water Resources Association (AWRA).
