they say 'the rain in spain stays mainly on the plain' ..or at least somebody did
i can't seem to figure out why they say that, but in chicago, they say rain stays mainly DOWN THE DRAIN!!! or flooding above it - check out this image from saturday:
[as you see, 'exit only'] and this one:
the record breaking rainfall is important for a number of reasons, not the smallest of which being that climate change will continue to produce more and more dramatic weather in the coming years, and we will begin to see more strange and unsettling events like this winter's 'THUNDERSNOW' as time unfolds. [which BTW was more like a 70s scifi movie than real life] however, when it comes to stormwater we should also consider this:
now regularly, storms provide the awesome effect of recharging aquifers and watersheds. although this image was created to demonstrate where an invasive carp species could enter the great lakes, it is also demonstrating the more important and dangerous condition that has existed for the past 100 years: ALL OUR WATER GOES out the canal to the mississippi, and finally out TO THE GULF OF MEXICO. and not just the water we drink or shower with, we have 'combined sewers' in the midwest, they handle both wastewater and stormwater, mix them, and dispose of them together. i won't get into the serious problems with that system beyond the relevance here: even ALL THAT STORMWATER ^^^^^ will not be absorbed into the great lakes and reused by chicago. once it goes into our drains, it will be in the atlantic ocean. think about this - chicago uses a lot of water and all of it goes to the gulf, as well as any rain that falls on our streets or impervious surfaces. and it has for OVER 100 years. but we know now that water will be the most scarce resource of the coming century and the great lakes is 20% of it (for the whole planet) ....we're running out of excuses, chicago. lets fix this soon.
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