Regional Stormwater Management Plan
Stormwater and the Illinois River

The Illinois River Valley Council of Governments created Honoring Our Water: A Regional Stormwater Plan for Peoria, Tazewell, and Woodford Counties of Illinois to address the emerging challenges of a degrading stormwater infrastructure and the contamination of local streams and the Illinois River. Water flow knows no jurisdictional boundaries; the plan is written under the context of a regional framework where local units of government cooperatively advance stormwater policy and programs.

Implementation of the plan is intended to be an aggressive approach over a ten year period. This timeframe is only feasible if units of government commit local funds to implementation. A certain degree of implementation is required of urbanized areas under the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Program. The plan, however, reaches beyond federal standards and outlines a strategy to protect citizens from the dangers of a degrading stormwater infrastructure and to engage local communities in the Illinois River preservation and restoration initiative.

The creation of Honoring Our Water is the first step in upgrading the approach to stormwater management in the Tri‐County area. Communities must now reach consensus on regional priorities and assign responsibility for implementation. The days of status quo curb and gutter stormwater discharges and overuse of harmful chemicals on the land are ending. Stormwater management in the Tri‐County region is evolving to embrace the water quality improvements needed in central Illinois streams and the Illinois River.

Regional Stormwater Plan "Honoring Our Water"

Awards

TCRPC received the Stormwater Management Award from the Illinois Association for Floodplain and Stormwater Management in March of 2009.

Honoring Our Water: A Regional Stormwater Plan for Peoria, Tazewell, and Woodford Counties of Illinois won an award from the Illinois Chapter of the American Planning Association in the fall of 2009. The plan was recognized in the Sustainability category.

^{Recreational opportunities such as boating could be jeopardized by sedimentation of the Illinois River.}