**ADVANCE FOR WEEKEND EDITIONS, DEC. 3-4 FILE ** The sailboat Pronto sails in the Chicago-Mackinac Island Race, July 20,1996, in Lake Michigan near Chicago. Chicago's easy access to the vast, blue waters of Lake Michigan is enough to make Las Vegas and Phoenix green with envy. Every day, the Windy City and its suburbs draw about 900 million gallons from the lake under a unique arrangement sanctioned by the U.S. Supreme Court. Which means the biggest metro area on the U.S. side of the Great Lakes has little incentive to save water, right? Hardly. Two years ago, Mayor Richard Daley warned that development and wasteful habits could jeopardize the plentiful water supply Chicagoans take for granted. He put forward a wide-ranging water protection strategy, with conservation a centerpiece. (AP Photo/ Beth A. Keiser)