Our Blue Backyard

The Great Lakes are actually the center of an exciting new experiment in a circular water economy. Instead of treating wastewater like refuse, this new approach is to treat it like a resource and reuse it for essential purposes.

A nonprofit called Current is leading a project called Great Lakes RENEW, which has millions of dollars in federal funding. Current’s goal is to transform how cities across the Great Lakes, especially in Illinois and Michigan, handle water from beginning to end.

Right now, most cities clean wastewater just enough to release it back into lakes or rivers. But this new approach is more advanced, using technology to remove waste, forever chemicals, and microplastics. Then that clean water is used for industry, energy production, or even residents’ drinking supply.

What’s fantastic is that this project goes beyond producing cleaner water. It builds an entire circular system where water never gets wasted. For places like Chicago and Detroit, this is really important. Climate change, aging infrastructure, and pollution are all big threats to these cities’ water supplies. A circular system will makes cities more resilient and less dependent on constantly pulling fresh water, protecting them into the future.