Chung Bill Prioritizes Clean, Affordable Drinking Water, while Helping Local Businesses Succeed

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. —Rep. Sharon Chung, D-Bloomington, is protecting access to clean drinking water and protecting Central Illinois residents from new rate increases by passing a new bill that will utilize treated water for local data centers in order to conserve freshwater for individual use.

“I am beyond excited to see the recent investment in data centers in Central Illinois but we have to put our residents first,” said Chung. “Currently, these data centers use clean drinking water for cooling purposes. By using treated water for these industrial purposes, we can ensure that clean drinking water is reserved for our residents while continuing to support the investment in data centers in Central Illinois.”

New development of data centers has made a significant contribution to the Central Illinois economy, but these centers also utilize a significant amount of water for cooling purposes. When businesses must use public drinking water for industrial purposes, access to fresh drinking water can be reduced and rates for individual customers can increase.

Chung worked to balance the needs of these growing businesses and local residents by passing House Bill 1538, which grants the Bloomington and Normal Water Reclamation District (BNWRD) the authority to sell treated water to private entities and accept wastewater for treatment in Bloomington and Normal. This bill diverts clean drinking water away from private entities that use it for industrial purposes and back to the residents of Bloomington and Normal, helping to control local water rates and protect access to fresh drinking water.

“Especially now, we need to be looking at every opportunity to grow our economy while also controlling costs for families – and that will require creative approaches like this,” Chung said. “I look forward to working with my colleagues in the Senate to put Bloomington and Normal residents first and pass this bill.”

Chung’s bill has passed through the House and now moves to the Senate for consideration