Skip washing the dishes, laundry until flooding subsides

Here’s a good excuse to delay laundry day for a bit longer: it could help reduce flooding expected to hit the city as early May showers continue.

This week of rain has filled the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District’s Deep Tunnel and reservoirs used to prevent flooding — that’s about 9 billion gallons of water.

Because the Chicago River can be polluted due to sewer overflows and stormwater runoff, the MWRD is advising residents to minimize water usage. Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Commissioner Debra Shore advises Chicago area residents to skip the dishes until the flooding subsides.

“If you can defer washing dishes and laundry, taking showers or baths and flushing toilets, that will reduce the load on sewers and give them a bit more capacity to convey water to treatment plants and reservoirs,” Shore said. “Every little bit helps.”

Cook County has seen more than 3.8 inches of rainfall on average since Saturday morning, with nearly two inches in the past 30 hours.

The MWRD’s Tunnel and Reservoir Plan consists of 109 miles of tunnels and three reservoirs. When conditions permit, all this water will be pumped back to MWRD plants for treatment.

RELATED: Flash flood watch issued for Chicago area as rain continues