The committee received an update from the Kankakee County Waterways Advisory Committee on Oct. 16 that covered education, restoration and safety activities and recommended exploring sustained funding for river mitigation and restoration.

Mister Wilson reported that the Aroma Park dredging project removed about 8,300 cubic yards of sand and sediment to open the channel and increase flow velocity. Officer Brian Elliott of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources provided an update on safety enforcement and said IDNR is short-handed in law enforcement staffing for waterways.

The advisory committee also discussed the CodeRED emergency-notification system and encouraged residents to register for phone, text and email alerts for severe weather, evacuations and public-health emergencies. Aqua's plant superintendent, Mister Morris, attended the advisory meeting and recommended the waterways committee pursue sustained funding sources to support mitigation, restoration and long-term resilience on the Kankakee and Iroquois rivers; the advisory committee referred education items back to its subcommittee for review.

A committee member, Mister Fedelan, said he was present at the advisory meeting and questioned the timing of renewed emphasis on funding: "We've been trying for additional funding for the river for years. Why did they say all of a sudden now we're gonna start doing it?" He said he attempted to speak at that advisory meeting but was not recognized.

Why it matters: the dredging and proposed funding work affect river navigation, flood conveyance and long-term resilience on county waterways. The advisory committee's recommendation to seek sustained funding would require future committee review and potential budget or grant applications.

Formal action: the waterways-related items were discussed and partly referred for further review; the transcript records the advisory committee's referral of education items to a subcommittee and a request to explore funding, but no final county appropriation or grant award was made at the Oct. 16 committee meeting.

Next steps: the committee will consider advisory recommendations and any funding proposals at future meetings.