The City of Big Shoulders is also the City of Big Water.
Chicago’s Department of Water Manage-ment is capable of producing 2.1 billion gallons of potable water per day, serving 490,000 accounts and 5.3 million customers throughout Chicago and 125 neighboring suburbs. That’s over 40% of the population of the entire state of Illinois.
The department is responsible for over 4,000 miles of water mains, 48,500 fire hydrants and two of the largest water treatment plants in the world.
And the capital improvement plans and programs for this vast system are just as big. The department is in the midst of
