The Water We Share

The Western Illinois Museum in partnership with the One Book, One Community Festival will host a community conversation about the ways water impacts our lives in West Central Illinois. The one-hour program will be held at the Museum and bring community members together to share history, science, and civic interests that will inform guests as well as foster discussion. 

Macomb’s water meets safe water standards but the City of Macomb is faced with several challenges to maintain those services. For example, in 2023 a survey was begun to document households with lead pipes, a necessary step to determine if there is a problem and to secure funding to replace lead water lines. This conversation is meant to offer information and build an understanding of challenges, past and present, in providing safe and affordable water for our community. 

This program is offered as part of the Shared Community Action group’s annual One Book, One Community Festival whose 2024 theme is water. One of the books selected for the community to read is What the Eyes Don’t See: A Story of Crisis, Resistance, and Hope in an American City by Mona Hanna-Attisha. The book chronicles the author’s work on identifying and documenting the impact of lead in her community of Flint, Michigan. The book tackles the complex environmental, political, and social issues the community faced, but it is also a template for community involvement and grassroots efforts to effect the needed change.  

Our conversation will include a brief history of water service in McDonough County by Museum Director Sue Scott as a throughline to what current Public Works Director Alice Ohrtmann faces in identifying emerging concerns about the City’s water supply. Douglas Erickson, a licensed professional engineer and the vice-president of Benton & Associates, Inc. will bring his experience of working with over a dozen communities to inventory and remove lead services from their systems. The Mayor of the City of Macomb, Mike Inman, will be on hand to answer questions and participate in the conversation.

The Western Illinois Museum is a non-profit organization celebrating and nurturing the history, culture, and traditions of McDonough County.  The Museum is located in a historic building at 201 S. Lafayette Street, one block south of Macomb’s Courthouse Square.

A full schedule of events can be found at wimuseum.org or on social media @wimuseum. For further information, call 309-837-2750, text 309-837-2613, or email info@wimuseum.org. 

About the Participants

Douglas Erickson, P.E., is a licensed professional engineer and the Vice-President of Benton & Associates, Inc. Mr. Erickson, with B&A, has worked on water treatment and distribution systems throughout West-Central Illinois and Central Missouri and helped communities tackle safe drinking water challenges and affordability concerns.  Related to our book’s topic, B&A is actively working with over a dozen communities to inventory and remove lead services from their systems.

Alice Ohrtmann, P.E. brings over 35 years of environmental engineering experience to her position as Public Works Director for the City of Macomb.  She oversees the Wastewater Treatment facility including the sewer plant and collection system, the Water Treatment Plant that treats drinking water, and the Operations Division that maintains the city streets, storm sewers, and water distribution systems. Working with the City of Macomb, she and her staff, have been instrumental in developing a three-year plan launched in 2023 to collect data on the City’s water delivery system to guide needed changes.

Since 2008, Sue Scott, the Western Illinois Museum’s director has worked to create and preserve a collection that reflects the history and culture of West Central Illinois. The Museum offers exhibits and public programs for the community to learn, experience, and connect with the stories and accomplishments that shape and define McDonough County.

About the One Book One Community Festival

The One Book One Community idea comes from the American Library Association, and cities and towns across the USA have been adopting—and adapting–the program for more than two decades. Every year participating communities invite residents to read a specific book and gather in small or large groups to discuss it.

To engage children, adolescents, and adults, the Macomb’s OBOC Committee chooses three books on a particular theme and schedules conversations, concerts, and other activities to bring different age groups together around the theme. Events are scheduled by a variety of organizations throughout a given month and offer residents multiple opportunities to get involved. 

Some of the organizations in our area that are participating in an OBOC Festival program are, besides the Western Illinois Museum, the Macomb Public Library, the YMCA, the University of Illinois Extension, area Book Clubs, Tne Wine Sellers, Macomb schools, the WIU Community Music School String Ensemble, and Prairie View Apartments.

The books chosen for the 2024 OBOC Festival are:

This Raindrop Has a Billion Stories to Tell by Linda Ragsdale, an illustrated children’s book, A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park, a short novel for young adults, and What the Eyes Don’t See: A Story of Crisis, Resistance, and Hope in an American City by Mona Hanna-Attisha, an analysis of the Flint, Michigan, water crisis written for adults.

About the Shared Community Action Group

The Shared Community Action (SCA) Group is composed of leaders of civic and religious groups who first came together as the Moving Macomb Forward Committee. 

The SCA’s goal is to strengthen long-term dialogue and cooperation among the diverse members of the Macomb community. It seeks to develop ways individuals and organizations can contribute to an equitable, just, healthy, and strong community, and to confront barriers that keep community members apart and undermine community-building.

The SCA is committed to working with everyone in Macomb who supports its goals, recognizes the human dignity of each of its residents and visitors, and wants to take up the challenge of an ever-deepening dedication to justice and equity.