Water Notes: A Few of Our Favorite Things

We read a lot of stuff about water, and sometimes we forget to pass the fun along to you. This week, we’re starting a new tradition and making up for that oversight by sharing a few of our favorite blogs, websites, and tools. If you have great additions to our list, be sure to share in the comments or on Twitter @IllinoisWater or Facebook.

by Irene Miles

• Unwantedmeds.org hosts the UpClose series in which they interview scientists about their research. You know how much we love chatting about science, and this is fun and accessible. Since Unwantedmeds focuses on safe disposal of unwanted or expired medicine, the interviews generally deal with what happens to the environment when pharmaceuticals escape. The collection so far includes an engineer, a toxicologist, and a microbial ecologist. We hear rumors that there will be more soon.
• Did you know that Illinois has sister lakes and rivers?  We do, in Brazil, Mexico, Ireland, and China, to name a few. The goal of the Sister Rivers and Lakes initiative is to share innovative solutions to the problems these water bodies share with those in Illinois. Some of the strategies used by Illinois to address state water resource dilemmas include the Mud-to-Parks program and the Clean Water Initiative. 
• One of the most helpful sites we follow is the blog of State Climatologist Jim Angel. Dr. Angel keeps us up-to-date on drought, tornado drought, the average temperatures of the season we’re in, and lots of other useful information about Illinois weather and climate. We highly recommend adding Illinois State Climatologist to your blog roll.
• Speaking of weather, the Midwest Regional Climate Center’s webpage is also fantastic. Not only can you look up the maximum snow in one month in Champaign County (it was 32 inches in March of 1906), but you can also look up extreme temperatures, past weather events, drought, and the weather on the day you were born!

Walgreens Taking Back Unwanted Medication April 27

Urbana—Communities across central Illinois will have an opportunity to safely dispose of unwanted medications this month. Another National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day will take place on Saturday, April 27 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Residents can drop off their unused medications free of charge at Walgreens stores at 841 Bloomington Road in Champaign or at 302 E. University Avenue in Urbana.

Local police departments will anonymously collect both prescription and over-the-counter medications—including pet medications—at participating Walgreens stores in Champaign, Urbana, Mahomet, Rantoul, Danville, Monticello, Effingham, Taylorville, Pana, Mattoon, Charleston, Bourbonnais, and Kankakee. Sharps/syringes will not be accepted. The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) will incinerate all medicines collected. To find the participating Walgreens locations near you, visit www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drug_disposal/takeback. 

“Flushing medications down the toilet or throwing them in the trash threatens the safety and health of humans, pets, and the environment,” said Samantha Murphy, district loss prevention manager at Walgreens. “Walgreens is committed to helping people properly dispose of their unwanted medicine.”

Recent studies have found a wide-range of pharmaceutical chemicals in rivers, groundwater, and drinking water throughout the country. These chemicals can kill bacteria needed to break down waste in sewage plants and harm fish and other wildlife. Storing unneeded medicines in the home is also the cause of thousands of accidental poisonings in children and pets each year.   

“Awareness of the risks is growing, but finding a collection isn’t always easy,” said Laura Kammin, pollution prevention program specialist at Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant. “The DEA Take-Back event makes it simple to get rid of medications you no longer need.”

This is the sixth DEA-led pharmaceutical collection day held since 2010. In that time, more than 2 million pounds of medication have been collected by law enforcement agencies and community partners nationwide.

To learn more about the effects of improper pharmaceutical disposal and for information on how to store and dispose of medication safely when take-back programs are not available, visit unwantedmeds.org.

Contributed by our friends at the Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant