Don’t let fat, oil and grease get the best of your household pipes this Thanksgiving season.  Let Aqua and Gus the Grease Monster show you how to avoid costly clogs. Food scraps, grease and disposable wipes can block pipes and cause wastewater backups in homes and businesses. Check out our tips to dodge the whole mess! 

On September 20^th, Aqua Illinois held this year’s second river clean-up event at the Kankakee River. The clean-up was a part of the Adopt-a-River program in which “foster parents” are responsible for a designated section of a river to clean twice a year. Aqua Illinois has been involved with Adopt-a-River program for the past 13 years.

This year, the clean-up was led and organized by Joel Mingus. He’s been involved for the past 5 years, this year being his second in organizing the event. In regards to the Kankakee River, which serves as a source for one of Aqua’s water treatment plants, Mingus commented, “Aqua’s support of this event reinforces the importance we place on the environment and our water source.” Aqua employees Kevin Culver, Don Denault, Tori Mury, Sean Culver, Kyle McKay and Sonia Fisher also helped out.

This Year’s Team

Mingus’ team comprised of Aqua Illinois employees, local residents and a Boy Scout troop scoured their mile of the river for litter. The team rid Kankakee of the usual wrappers, bottles, cans, plastic bags and other litter. What was more interesting, however, was how they came across pieces of a dilapidated dock and a relatively intact aluminum boat in the midst of their venture! This only goes to show the importance of the two clean-ups per year due to the random debris that can pop up at any given time.

These clean-ups are not only important, they’re also super fun! The biannual clean-up appears to be enticing to all ages as Joel’s kids took part in their second year this time around! “Our kids loved helping. They did get sidetracked by the shells and flowers, but they enjoyed spending time around the river,” he said. What’s great about having kids involved is the opportunity to educate them on the importance of clean water and a healthy environment.

Another Successful Clean-up

It was a successful day, according to Mingus. The kids had fun, the Kankakee River got a much-needed cleaning and Aqua Illinois was able to continue providing clean water to the area.

An event like Adopt-a-River is what Aqua America strives for in providing clean water and encourages you to get involved in. To find out how you can get involved with the Adopt-a-River program, head over to their site!

How many of your daily activities require you to use water? Stop and think about it for a second. Can you imagine lasting an entire day without any water to perform the most basic of tasks, like washing your hands?

We use water for a lot more than just drinking. We use it to do our laundry, make coffee, upkeep our yards, clean ourselves, clean just about everything else and much more. To increase awareness around responsible water usage — and how lucky we are to have access to safe, clean water — from October 6 through October 8, we want you to imagine a day without water.

These days are a time to think about water’s importance in our lives and to reflect upon what we can do to conserve our most essential resource.

Change starts at the smallest level, and you can imagine a day without water just by changing some of your daily habits and practices at home. Our WaterSmart Tips page is a great place to start with plenty of everyday tips on how to reduce your water usage and value how we use water in our lives: 

●      Brush your teeth without running your sink

●      Check your home’s pipes and faucets for leaks, which can account for wasting up to 140 gallons of water per week

●      Sweep the driveway instead of using a hose

●      Time your showers! Your household can even make a game out of challenging one another to take the shortest and most efficient shower

See? There are plenty of ways for you to get involved!

At Aqua, we act as stewards of the environment. We value water immensely, and we’re dedicated to raising awareness about its importance to every aspect of our lives. By joining forces with people around the country to imagine a day without water, we’re hoping to remind both our customers and ourselves of how fortunate we are to have reliable access to water. How will you imagine a day without water? Let us know on Facebook and Twitter!

Summer has come to an end and school is back in session. For all sport parents and players, this means practices have begun. With practice and games comes proper steps to staying safe. Helmets and pads? Check. Cleats? Check. Water? Water is an absolute must — and just as important as those shin guards.

At Aqua, we want everyone to know that hydration plays an important role for any type of fitness. Without proper hydration, you’re not able to perform at your peak, and if your kids play a sport, they can’t perform at their peak, either. So, we enlisted our friend Jesse Frank, Fitness Director and Vice President at UNITE Fitness, for some advice and we’re getting SOAKED in the idea of hydration. Check out these reasons why you should fill up your water bottle before heading to the soccer field, football field or gym:

1. 75 percent of your muscle is made of water, so drinking water before a workout will keep muscles from cramping. “Muscle cramping happens if there is a loss of electrolytes, so if you’re not properly hydrated before a workout, you run the risk of painful cramping. You should be highly hydrated before every workout,” says Frank.Ultimately, a hydrated body allows your performance to be better, faster and stronger. Especially when working out in mid-August through early September, when it can still be hot and humid in some parts of the U.S.

2. Did you know: although sports drinks are advertised as the best way to quench you or your child's thirst, water is still better to drink. Sports drinks contain about 10 teaspoons of sugar, causing blood sugar to drop and your body to crash. “Sports drinks have their place: when you’re competing at a high-level and in high heat,” Frank says. “Examples include marathons and half-marathons. Otherwise, water is the way to go.”

3. We talked about the importance of being hydrated before a workout (see #1), and now we’re going to talk about why it’s important to drink water during and after, too. In short, it helps your body in the recovery process. Water during a workout keeps your energy flow going. After is important because the water flushes out toxins so your muscles won’t go stiff and your organs can function properly.

4.  How much water is needed to be hydrated properly? Well, it depends on who you are. “You should take half of your body weight in ounces,” Frank recommends. “If you weigh 200 pounds, you should be drinking 100 ounces. And that’s generally without a lot of activity.” So what if you do a lot of activity?Frank says, “If you workout and you sweat a lot, replenishing your water weight is very, very important.” Remember: water before, during and after make for an energized, cramp-free athlete!

5.   Hungry, weak, fatigued: those do not sound like a way that anyone wants to feel. But, it’s how you can feel if you’re dehydrated, and your urine could be a clue as to whether or not you’re at that point. “Your urine should be clear or pale yellow. Dark yellow is a sign of dehydration,” Frank says. “Hunger, weakness, fatigue, loss of concentration — these are all signs of being dehydrated,” he explains.   

Now that everyone is up to date with their water facts, remember that school sports — and working out —  are about being healthy, having fun and staying safely hydrated. Frank and the Aqua team understand that water isn’t everyone’s favorite drink. “If it’s the taste of water that keeps you from being hydrated, you can always jazz up your water,” Frank says. Here’s an Aqua post with some ideas for doing just that: 5 Hacks That Make Drinking Water More Simple.