In May 2024, Illinois amended Public Act 103.0801 to clarify the potential for use of treated wastewater. It enables
the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and Illinois Pollution Control Board to adopt rules for treated
wastewater reuse for approved purposes such as industrial cooling or crop irrigation. Water reuse opens the door
for Illinois to benefit from a water resource that is typically wasted by reducing withdrawals from groundwater
resources, lakes, and streams in water-stressed areas. In addition, there is potential for significant energy
savings when treating wastewater effluent to standards appropriate for reuse applications, which could provide
operational cost savings for water treatment plants.