Public Accountability Report Public Accountability Report

2025 Clean Water
Mission Statement Illinois rivers, streams, and lakes will support all designated uses; every public water supply will provide water that is consistently safe to drink; and resource groundwater will be protected.
Program Goals and Objectives
  1. Implement programs to sustain beneficial uses of streams, lakes, and groundwater.
    1. Protect and maintain existing high-quality waters.
    2. Eliminate use impairments in Illinois waters with identified problems.
    3. Promote nutrient management practices.
    4. Work toward science-based standards (nutrients and bacteria) and more accurate use classifications.
    5. Address non-continuous but recurring pollutant discharges related to wet weather conditions.
    6. Continue financial assistance to communities seeking to achieve or maintain National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) compliance.
    7. Increase awareness of groundwater contamination, non-degradation standards, wellhead protection, and source water protection through outreach and education.
  2. Ensure that public water supply systems provide water that is consistently safe to drink.
    1. Reduce the population served by community water supplies with violations of drinking water standards to less than 5%.
    2. Work toward enhancing rules for groundwater protection, source water protection, and wellhead protection areas.
    3. Target financial assistance to assure compliance with new and existing drinking water standards.
  3. Protect and restore Lake Michigan.
    1. Maintain the percent of open shoreline miles in good condition.
  4. Reduce mercury in the Illinois environment.
    1. Identify and assess current levels of mercury loading to Illinois water environment.
  5. Move from facility planning to watershed protection.
    1. Develop total maximum daily loads (TMDLs) for waters that fail to meet the use for which they have been designated.
    2. Align IEPA program activities on a watershed basis.
    3. Foster local watershed management planning.
  6. Assist with statewide water quantity planning.
    1. Provide technical assistance to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and regional planning groups.
    2. Inform stakeholders of the impacts of water quantity on water quality and vice versa.
Source of Funds U. S. Environmental Protection Fund, Water Revolving Fund, Anti-Pollution Fund, Illinois Clean Water Fund, Environmental Protection Permit and Inspection Fund, Build Illinois Bond Fund Statutory Authority 415 ILCS 5/1 et seq.
Fiscal Year 2026 Target/Projected Fiscal Year 2025 Actual Fiscal Year 2025 Target/Projected Fiscal Year 2024 Actual Fiscal Year 2023 Actual
Input Indicators
Total expenditures - all sources (in thousands) $ 952,030.6 $ 881,509.8 $ 822,836.1 $ 748,032.9 $ 529,190.1
Total expenditures - state appropriated funds (in thousands) $ 951,097.9 $ 880,646.3 $ 822,000.1 $ 747,272.8 $ 528,476.1
Average monthly full-time equivalents 314.0 290.0 339.0 322.0 262.0
Output Indicators
Drinking water permits issued 2,500 2,288 2,750 2,553 2,675
Wastewater permits issued (a) 3,000 3,228 3,000 5,898 3,322
Drinking water facilities inspected 600.0 592.0 587.0 556.0 596.0
Wastewater facilities inspected 460.0 404.0 425.0 360.0 421.0
Wastewater loans 42.0 34.0 42.0 37.0 30.0
Drinking water loans 50.0 80.0 100.0 77.0 80.0
Non-point source control projects N/A N/A 13.0 15.0 18.0
Number of violation notices issued 300.0 286.0 305.0 286.0 328.0
Number of enforcement cases referred to the Attorney General 50.0 44.0 60.0 55.0 54.0
Value of loans issued for drinking water projects (in thousands) $ 351,277.0 $ 382,900.0 $ 476,000.0 $ 357,127.0 $ 338,426.0
Value of loans for wastewater projects (in thousands) $ 583,000.0 $ 484,200.0 $ 500,000.0 $ 436,489.0 $ 518,988.0
Population benefitting from wastewater loans 7,000,000 6,388,820 7,200,000 6,917,286 8,873,422
Population benefitting from drinking water loans (b) 5,000,000 4,877,410 3,000,000 2,661,470 2,048,193
Number of Lead Service Line Replacement loans issued 52.0 43.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Value of loans issued for Lead Service Line Replacement projects (in thousands) $ 186,000.0 $ 167,300.0 $ 0.0 $ 0.0 $ 0.0
Outcome Indicators
Groundwater with "Good Quality" rating 65.00% 65.00% 65.00% 65.00% 65.00%
Illinois streams with "Good Quality" rating 60.60% 60.60% 61.00% 60.60% 59.50%
Lakes with "Good Quality" rating 93.90% 93.90% 92.00% 92.10% 90.00%
Major wastewater- discharging facilities in compliance 95.00% 96.00% 95.00% 95.00% 95.00%
Population served with good-quality drinking water from community water supplies 95.00% 99.00% 99.00% 99.36% 99.00%
Lake Michigan Open Waters with "Good Quality" Rating (Percentage) 100.00% 100.00% 100.00% 100.00% 100.00%
Efficiency/Cost-Effectiveness Indicators
Cost per facility permitted (in dollars) $ 1,650.00 $ 1,527.00 $ 950.00 $ 862.00 $ 984.00
Interest savings on drinking water loans (in thousands) $ 7,588.0 $ 13,184.0 $ 11,471.0 $ 15,295.0 $ 62,580.0
Interest savings on wastewater loans (in millions) $ 12.6 $ 29.9 $ 26.9 $ 35.9 $ 35.3
Footnotes
Fiscal year 2024 included a reissuance of a general NPDES permit which caused an increase for that year. Fiscal year 2025 is in line with previous years and future projection. The increase from fiscal year 2024 to fiscal year 2025 is driven primarily by the overall loan program capacity increasing from $268 million in fiscal year 2024 to $383 million in fiscal year 2025. Due to an increase in the total program capacity, the loan program provided funding to more projects year over year, and therefore more population benefitting from drinking water loans.

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