Chicago Politics

DWM Construction Season Kickoff 4.24.26

Description

Mayor Brandon Johnson attends the DWM Construction Season Kickoff.

Transcript

2:32 Are we ready? Are we ready? Good morning, everyone. Good morning. My name is David Moore, D-A-V-I-D-M-O-O-R-E. I am the Alderman of the 17th Ward, and I am just so honored to be here today, not only with our mayor, Mayor Brandon Johnson. Y'all make some noise for him right now. Our Director of Infrastructure, Lori, where you at? Where she goes? Right behind me. Okay, there she is. Y'all make some noise for her right now.

3:07 Our commissioner from the Buildings Department is here, Marlene Hopkins. You all make some noise for her. And along with the mayor, the man that's helped lead in this project who is very good at what he does, and I appreciate him to the fullest, our Water Commissioner, Randy Conner, and his entire team. And I can't say enough about the workers of Department of Waterman Management who every day do their best to make sure that our cities are looking good

3:41 and that we've got the service that we need. Y'all make some noise for these workers. Replacement of city water and sewer infrastructure is critical not only to my residents but all the residents in the city of Chicago, and it demonstrates the city's commitment to the people of the 17th Ward and to this city. The Department of Water Management has performed 614, let me tell you, 614 full land surface line replacements in the 17th ward over the last five years, including 160 completed in 2026 alone.

4:19 In addition to the sewer work happening here on 83rd Street, the Department of Waterman Management is planning new waterman replacements on Fairfield Avenue and Washtenaw Avenue in our Chicago Lawn community in 2026. Just this past Tuesday, my office hosted a community meeting to present the upcoming block-level layered service line replacement projects that will begin in the coming weeks on 7200 block of South Honorary and the 7300 block of South Wood Street. I encourage people to get their water line, their water lines replaced.

4:54 All of the water departments, water main and sewer main replacement and block level projects. include full street restoration, ensuring communities see the benefit of these investments from below ground to the surface. We appreciate the strong partnership with the Department of Water Management and their continued responsiveness in helping deliver these critical improvements to our neighborhoods. These projects reflect Mayor Johnson's commitment to investing in the infrastructure that residents depend on every day, while building safer, stronger, and more

5:26 resilient communities across Chicago. By prioritizing long-term infrastructure improvements in neighborhoods like the 17th Ward, the city is making meaningful investments that improve quality of life today and lay the foundation for a better future. We look forward to our continued collaboration with the Department of Water Management on the delivery of critical water and sewer projects here in the 17th Ward. Now those were my talking points, and let me just say real quick, I am so grateful for this mayor and the work that he's done with infrastructure throughout this entire city, but especially in neighborhoods that does not usually see those

6:00 benefits. And from my heart, I can say I see that work. I said it during council budget hearings and everything. I'm seeing the work that's being done, not only in our communities, but throughout this whole city. And from mayor to the mayor, I want to say thank you so much. Who's next? They don't have it on my list. Okay. All right. And so without further ado, I didn't want to make any mistakes. I did that before. And I want to introduce the great mayor of this city, our mayor, Mayor Brandon Johnson. Y'all make some noise for him. Well, thank you so much, Alderman

6:36 Moore. And good morning, everyone. Good morning. I'm grateful to be with you all. You know, this week, the city of Chicago, we kicked off construction season, celebrating city crews and the work that they are doing to repair, to build and to strengthen our neighborhoods. We've highlighted the streets we drive on and transit we rely on, and the community spaces we are building. Today, we bring our construction season kickoff to the final day of this week with the Chicago Department of Water Management.

7:07 We can see here today that DWM crews are installing a new sewer main on South Loomis Boulevard in the 17th Ward. This is just the beginning, though, of our work this season. Chicago's sewer system was largely constructed about a century ago when Chicago was smaller and our climate was much milder. Climate change is having an impact on our city, as we have seen with heavy downpours of rain in very compressed areas, and we've seen that especially on the west and south sides,

7:39 in the southwest side. To ensure that our system can accommodate the new storms that we're facing, our sewer system must be updated. With 4,600 miles of sewer under Chicago streets, this job will take time and a lot of work. Thankfully, DWM's tradespeople are highly trained, skilled, and committed to the people of Chicago. So let's again give these incredible workers a round of applause. In 2025, DWM crews replaced little over seven miles of sewer mains and nine miles of water mains.

8:16 This year, they anticipate going even further and replacing 9.4 miles of sewer mains and over 22 miles of water mains. In conjunction with the new sewer main update that DWM workers are conducting here in the 17th Ward, in the coming days, they will begin the work of replacing 37 lead service lines. This block-level lead service line project is funded through state-revolving funds provided to Chicago from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.

8:47 And I want to express my gratitude to our federal and state partners who are assisting us with the funding for these projects. We look forward to continued collaboration on our infrastructure projects. The city is committed to replacing Chicago's lead service lines with a focus on equity, prioritizing our more vulnerable communities. DWM has performed 94 equity-led service line replacement projects just here in the 17th Ward alone. These projects are funded from community development block grants provided by HUD, and I'm grateful for their support as well.

9:25 In 2025, DWM crews worked hard to replace 5,322 lead service lines across our entire city. And this year, they are projected to exceed that number and replace 9,437 lead service lines this year. So you can see all of this work that they're doing is important. It takes time, and it is tough, but we have tough workers because this is Chicago.

9:57 It also takes a huge funding commitment. Take this moment to express Chicago's need for investments in our water infrastructure. The work that DWM does, the work that they do, is essential. The work is about protecting homes from flooding, ensuring safe and clean drinking water for the city and 120 suburbs. Approximately 5.1 million people rely upon our DWM department, and it's about building a city that can withstand the challenges of climate change.

10:28 Chicago needs assistance to do this. My administration and DWM Commissioner Randy Conner will continue to advocate for resources to deliver the investments that residents deserve. The DWM crews here today and throughout our city, I want to thank you again for the essential work that you do. And thank you to Commissioner Conner, the entire leadership team. Thank you to Commissioner Marlene Hopkins, who is here. Thank you to our Deputy Mayor, Lori Lipson. I want to give a special shout out to the more than 20 members of our 2FM team who supported these events all week.

11:03 Let's give it up for 2FM. They've been all over the city of Chicago holding it down. And, of course, we would not be in the position that we're in in terms of building safer and more affordable communities if it were not for our police department. So shout out to the six. What's going on? Appreciate you all being here. Your hard work is making sure that each of our events and all of the work that we're doing reaches the front doors.

11:38 And so again, to all of Chicago's employees, thank you for your hard work this construction season and beyond. I'm grateful that we are building better together with you. And so with that, the person who is helping us build better together, Please welcome to the podium the Commissioner of the Department of Water, Mr. Randy Conner. So thank you, Mayor, and Alderman Moore. Good morning. Good morning.

12:09 So again, I'm Randy Conner, Commissioner of the Department of Water Management. And it's a pleasure to be here with you all today as we kick off another construction season. And thank you to all of these hardworking water management employees who day in and day out, rain, sleet, and snow, get it done for the citizens of Chicago. Absolutely. In order to be more, thank you for always being an advocate for the work that we do, and to the greatest frickin' mayor of the greatest frickin' city, Mayor Brandon Johnson. Give it up for our mayor. Mayor, thank you for always for your unwavering support.

12:45 So, Chicago's sewer and water infrastructure is massive. We have two of the world's largest conventional water treatment plants, 12 pumping stations, over 47,000 fire hydrants and water valves, over 56,000 catch basins, 350,000 manholes, over 4,300 miles of water main, and 4,600 miles of sewer main that keep the city's drinking water, storm water, and wastewater moving. And while we are in the water purification business, constant modernization and maintenance of all this infrastructure makes us one of the largest construction companies in the state of Illinois.

13:20 An example of that is this project today. This project consists of replacing over 3,300 feet of 10-inch clay pipe that was installed as early as 1913 with new 24-inch to 30-inch concrete sewer main, which includes a brand new section of sewer in 83rd Street that did not previously exist. The upsizing and addition of the new sewer will help reduce future flooding in this area by increasing flow rates, reduce capacity limitations, and bottlenecks in the system.

13:53 We will also install water restrictors in the catch basins to reduce the amount of water that actually enters the system, along with flow-reducing sewer lids to allow more water to stay on the street, which will allow the sewer system to function properly during the heavier rainstorms. And as an added bonus, as the mayor mentioned, we will be replacing 37 lead service lines with the limits of this project, continually building on Mayor Johnson's commitment to clean drinking water. Our sewer main replacement program isn't the only way that we reduce flooding in homes.

14:25 We are also focused on leveraging innovation to help combat the increased flooding Chicago has been seeing due to climate change. Whether it's with our wind storage projects that will temporarily hold excess stormwater before it goes into the sewer system, or our sewer grid cleaning program, where we do structural sewer and catch basin cleanings to remove blockages and vacuum debris to improve sewer flow and reduce future backups and flooding. or the completion of our preliminary design of our ambitious 9.7 mile long 20 foot wide

15:00 far south side overflow tunnel project that will provide relief to our major larger diameter sewers and interceptors in the area that connect MWRD's tarp system. But in all of these projects, the Department of Water Management is working hard to bring relief to not only this community, but a greater benefit area. And there are important steps that residents can take to help prevent basement backups. When it's raining, avoid using extra water in the house, whether it's laundry, showers, or running dishwasher and if they haven't already been done please disconnect your downspout from

15:34 the sewer system and divert that rainwater into your yard and remember that after a storm water on the street is water that's not in your basement thank you i'll turn it back over to mayor johnson

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