SKOKIE CONSOLIDATED DRAINAGE DISTRICT
District Plans and Partnerships
SCDD 10-Year Plan
The SCDD Board of Commissioners adopted a 10-year Operation Plan for the District on January 8, 2025. The Plan contains a summary of current conditions of the District’s drainage system; an Operational Plan to maintain the system; and identifies current and future repair projects. The Plan is available under the District Plans and Partnerships section of the website.
North Branch Watershed Work Group
Rivers and streams in the North Branch Chicago River Watershed currently do not meet Illinois EPA’s designated uses of aquatic life, primary contact recreation, and fish consumption, which has resulted their listing as impaired waters. Illinois EPA’s goal is to improve water quality so that waterbodies in the watershed can be removed from the impaired waters list. With encouragement from IL EPA, a collaborative workgroup was formed to assess and address water quality impairment issues at a local level.
SCDD is a founding member of the North Branch Watershed Workgroup (NBWW), a voluntary dues paying membership organization with a mission to bring together a diverse coalition of stakeholders to work to improve water quality in the watershed in a cost-effective manner to meet Illinois EPA NPDES permit requirements. Membership consists of municipalities and agencies with separate storm sewer systems (MS4s), Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTW), and other interested parties. The NBWW conducts a monitoring program throughout the watershed to identify the causes and sources of water quality degradation.
For more information about the NBWW and monitoring reports and data: https://www.nbwwil.org/
Atkinson Road Reservoir
North Branch Chicago River Watershed-Based Plan
The Lake County Stormwater Management Commission (SMC) developed the North Branch Chicago River Watershed-Based Plan with participation of watershed stakeholders. The North Branch Chicago River Watershed planning area covers 94 square miles (60,658 acres), with northern and southern boundaries roughly extending from Illinois Route 132 in the City of Waukegan in Lake County south to Dempster Street in Morton Grove in Cook County. The North Branch Chicago River watershed drains the southeast 51 square miles (10%) of Lake County.
The North Branch Chicago River is formed from three tributary streams: the 17-mile Skokie River, the 24-mile Middle Fork, and the 14-mile West Fork. The three tributaries flow south into Cook County and converge to form the mainstem of the North Branch. The North Branch flows south through the Chicago River, South Branch, and Sanitary and Ship Canal to join with the Des Plaines River.
North Branch Chicago River Watershed Municipalities and Townships
The North Branch Chicago River Watershed-Based Plan supplies direction and targets resources for watershed improvement projects. The plan serves as a blueprint for improving water quality, reducing flood damage, and protecting natural resources – and for preventing existing watershed problems from worsening.
This watershed-based plan utilizes the most up-to-date sources of information available as well as historical data to provide a comprehensive summary of existing watershed conditions and trends. It recommends actions stakeholders can take to protect resources that are in good condition and restore those that have been degraded. The SCDD is identified as a lead partner for a number of plan recommendations.
The North Branch Chicago River Watershed-Based Plan was approved by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (August 2022), the Lake County Stormwater Management Commission (June 2023) and Lake County Board (Sept. 2023) and was adopted by the SCDD in May of 2024.
For more information about the North Branch Chicago River Watershed-Based Plan:
https://www.lakecountyil.gov/2433/North-Branch-Chicago-River-Watershed
