Effective Decision-Making in Chicago Based on an Innovative Approach to Sewer System Modeling and Master Planning

The City of Chicago Department of Water Management (CDWM) is faced with the daunting task of operating and maintaining more than 4,300 miles of aging combined sewer serving a population of nearly 3 million people distributed over an area of roughly 188 square miles. Over the past seven years, the CDWM and its team of consultants have used innovative approaches to the modeling of the sewer system to provide a basis for critical decisions related to system rehabilitation, capacity improvements, implementation of stormwater best management practices (BMPs), and integrated operation of the sewer system and a regional network of interceptors and CSO management tunnels and reservoirs. The results of this effort demonstrate the value and capital cost savings that a well-defined modeling program can provide for managers of large, urban combined sewer systems.