JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2006

Water. The past year was defined by it. Too much of it in the Gulf States and New England. Too little here.Water, we know, is essential to life. Take away both water and food, and we die from the lack of water long before the lack of food.

Water is also crucial to the workings of any ecosystem. We are just now beginning to comprehend how human interference with the natural flow of water destroys, even as it initially seems to solve, some problems. Consider the Everglades, drying up because of diversions made to accommodate sugar growers. Look at the Mississippi Delta, diminished by diversions made to accommodate shipping and, ironically, control flooding. Dams in the Pacific Northwest have led to the near-extinction of wild salmon. Irrigation so that farmers in the Great Plains can grow corn is lowering the level of the vitally important Ogallala Aquifer, the underground “river” that runs from South Dakota to Texas.

Reversing such damage isn’t easy. In McHenry County, however, the Lost Valley Marsh in Glacial Park was restored after a massive effort led by Ed Collins (story in CGM Jan/Feb, 1996). But preventing such damage in the first place is even more important. That’s why two of the region’s ongoing water wars are particularly important.

For several years, the Save the Prairie Foundation in Westchester has been working to prevent a residential development on an adjacent site because changes in the hydrology will negatively impact the plants now thriving on this rare, never-plowed 100-acre tract.

And in Woodstock, another proposed residential development could ruin the business of Mayo Underwood. An organic seed grower, Underwood must have her water tested annually and declared free of chemicals in order for her business, Underwood Gardens, to be certified organic. Take away the certification, and the foundation of the business is gone. Nearby glacial lakes would also be affected.

This past summer, we were all fighting our own water wars as the drought went on…and on…and on. The grass we could ignore, because once even a little rain arrived, lawns greened up just fine. Trees are another matter. Although we take them for granted, they are our most important—and most expensive—garden plants. And if you have to replace one, you may not live long enough to see it reach maturity. Better to hold on tight to the ones you have.

All of which goes to explain why I felt an increasing sadness as I drove throughout the region this summer and saw thousands of trees in distress from lack of water. Why spend hundreds of dollars to plant a tree and then not maintain it?

It also became increasingly clear that in the future, public spaces are going to require private help in order to prosper. Fortunately, some public-minded citizens are already rising to the occasion. In Wicker Park, for example, the Wicker Park Garden Club hired local homeless men to water their extensive perennial garden. In Nichols Park on the South Side, local residents took turns replenishing the water in those green Treegator® Bags at the base of young trees.

If we’re really serious about saving water, we might try to follow the example of Marcus de la fleur in Elmhurst who conserves water on his property in his own ingenious way. (See story on page 48.)

Getting serious about water. How’s that for a New Year’s resolution?