About Us

NBWW Bylaws & Policies

North Branch Chicago River Watershed Workgroup
The North Branch Chicago River Watershed Workgroup (NBWW) is a voluntary, dues paying, membership organization that monitors water quality to better identify and address sources of pollution; and strategize to improve water quality based on scientific data and local decision making. The NBWW provides many benefits including:

  • Workgroup monitoring data is utilized by members for NPDES permit compliance for POTWs and MS4s
  • Local decision making for cost-effective improvements – allowing for cost savings for everyone
  • Education and outreach to identify the best new and improved pollutant reduction practices and technologies
  • Continuing education credits to maintain professional certifications
  • Water quality improvements in the river and tributaries

Annual dues are used to implement a comprehensive, watershed wide monitoring program that is the basis for identifying more specific pollution sources and water quality improvements, and covers technical and administrative support. 2018 -2020 NBWW Membership funds were used as grant match for the 10-year update of the North Branch Chicago River Watershed-Based Plan, which provides action recommendations within the watershed to address water quality improvement.

North Branch Chicago River Watershed
The North Branch of the Chicago River watershed includes 3 tributary streams: the Skokie River, Middle and West Forks of the North Branch Chicago River that collectively make up the North Branch Chicago River located in Lake and Cook County, Illinois.  All three tributaries and the mainstem of the North Branch Chicago River are identified by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (Illinois EPA) as having impaired water quality. Fecal coliform, total suspended solids, phosphorus, chloride and 17 additional pollutants are identified as causing the impairment.  As a result, the North Branch Chicago River and its three tributaries do not meet Illinois EPA’s designated uses for aquatic life and primary contact recreation. Illinois EPA’s goal is to improve water quality so the watershed can be removed from the state’s impaired waters list (303(d) list). To improve water quality most cost efficiently and effectively, Illinois EPA is encouraging watershed communities to form a “workgroup” to address the pollution issues. The workgroup model is being successfully implemented in other watersheds in the region as an alternative to the Illinois EPA imposing costly upgrades to publicly owned treatment works’ (POTWs) and more stringent permit limits to communities’ NPDES stormwater permits. In response, POTWs and communities within the North Branch Chicago River watershed have formed a workgroup.