The Electronic Documents of Illinois provides permanent public access to official publications of the State of Illinois which have been deposited in electronic form.
This circular presents basic information on wells and pumping systems used for farm and domestic groundwater supplies. It describes types of wells and their construction, development, and costs. It discusses the various types of pumps and pressure tanks, how to select them, and their costs. Suggestions on locating wells to prevent pollution and procedures for disinfecting a homewater supply system are included.
This report documents the progress that has been made to date on the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) monitoring project. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) through the CREP provides support for this project. This monitoring program collects hydrologic, sediment, and nutrient data for selected watersheds within the Illinois River watershed to assist in the evaluation of the effectiveness of the program. The Illinois River CREP is a new initiative by the State of Illinois and the United States Department of Agriculture to implement conservation practices in the Illinois River watershed over a 15-year period that improve water quality and habitat for wildlife. Monitoring programs were established for sediment and nutrients for two pairs of watersheds within the Illinois River basin to collect hydrologic, sediment, and nutrient data during the implementation phase of the project. The two pairs of watersheds are the Court and Haw Creek watersheds (Spoon River basin) and the Panther-Cox Creek watershed (Sangamon River basin). This report details the location, equipment, and installation techniques used at the five monitoring stations and associated raingages that were installed as part of the data collection effort for this project. Samples of the data collection format and frequency are presented and described. Stage, nutrient concentration, and suspended sediment concentrations for data collected through June 2000 are also presented as appendices.
As a result of increased pollutant loading and low in-stream velocities, dissolved oxygen (DO) levels in the Chicago waterways historically have been low. In 1984, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRDGC) issued a feasibility report on a new concept of artificial aeration referred to as sidestream elevated pool aeration (SEPA). The SEPA station concept involves pumping a portion of water from a stream into an elevated pool. The water is then aerated by flowing over a series of cascades or waterfalls, returning to the stream. The MWRDGC proceeded with design criteria for SEPA stations as a result of experimental work performed by the Illinois State Water Survey (ISWS). Five SEPA stations were constructed and placed in operation along the Calumet River, Little Calumet River, and the Cal-Sag Channel waterway. In 1995 the ISWS returned to conduct research to evaluate the reaeration efficiencies and their effects on in-stream DO. Continuous monitoring of DO, temperature, pH, and conductivity was performed at 14 locations along the Calumet and Little Calumet Rivers, Cal-Sag Channel, and Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal to evaluate the effectiveness of the SEPA stations on maintaining in-stream DO concentrations. Also, supplemental cross-sectional measurements were made at the 14 locations and at an additional seven locations. Comparisons of mass balance, completely mixed, in-stream mean DO concentrations at the SEPA station outfalls and those measured at cross-sectional stations immediately downstream of each SEPA station were made. Results showed that each SEPA station has an immediate positive impact on in-stream DO concentrations. At SEPA stations 1 and 2, where the impacts are small, the positive effects can best be demonstrated using completely mixed values. Two important conclusions can be made. One is that the SEPA stations, particularly stations 3, 4, and 5, are fulfilling the intended function of maintaining stream DO standards in the Calumet and Little Calumet Rivers and the Cal-Sag Channel. The second is that DO concentrations less than the DO standard are still observed in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal in the reach beginning above its juncture with the Cal-Sag Channel to the Lockport Lock and Dam. Over the entire study period, DO concentrations were maintained above the standard 98.6 percent of the time from the SEPA station 3 outfall to the intake of SEPA station 4 and 97.5 percent of the time from the outfall of SEPA station 4 to the intake of EPA station 5. Significant improvements in DO concentrations were also achieved for at least 4 miles downstream of SEPA station 5 in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal.
The Illinois State Water Survey (ISWS) conducted sedimentation surveys of Lake Paradise and Lake Mattoon during 2001 in support of an Illinois Clean Lakes Program diagnostic/feasibility study to provide information on the storage and sedimentation conditions of the lakes. Both lakes are owned and operated by the City of Mattoon, which withdraws water from Lake Paradise as the raw water source for distribution of finished water and generally uses withdrawals from Lake Mattoon to maintain a more stable water level in Lake Paradise. The village of Neoga also withdraws water from Lake Mattoon for treatment and distribution. Since June 2001, Reliant Energy has operated a peaker power plant that has withdrawn water from Lake Mattoon for cooling systems. Lake Paradise and Lake Mattoon are located on the main stem of the Little Wabash River, a tributary to the Wabash River. The watershed is a portion of Hydrologic Unit 05120114. The dam for Lake Paradise is about 4 miles southwest of the City of Mattoon at 39 24' 47" north latitude and 88 26' 23" west longitude in Section 8, Township 11N., Range 7E., Coles County. The dam for Lake Mattoon is about 12 miles southwest of the City of Mattoon at 39 20' 00" north latitude and 88 28' 56" west longitude in Section 1, Township 10N., Range 6E., Shelby County.Lake Paradise was surveyed in 1979 and Lake Mattoon in 1980 as part of a previous cooperative study by the ISWS, the Illinois Department of Transportation - Division of Water Resources (DoWR), the Illinois Water Resources Center, and several departments at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Lake Paradise lost 835 acre-feet (ac-ft) of its capacity as a result of sedimentation between 1908 and 2001. Approximately 481 ac-ft of this loss has occurred since 1931, which gives an annual sedimentation rate of 9.9 ac-ft since 1931. If this rate of sedimentation continues, the volume of Paradise Lake will be approximately half of the potential 1908 volume in the year 2013 and will be filled completely by sediment in the year 2118. Lake Mattoon lost 1,705 ac-ft of its 1958 capacity as a result of sedimentation between 1958 and 2001, a sedimentation rate of 39.7 ac-ft per year since 1958.If this rate of sedimentation continues, the volume of Lake Mattoon will be approximately half of the 1958 capacity by 2124 and will be completely filled in the year 2291. The sedimentation rates for Lake Paradise and its watershed for the periods 1931-1979, 1979-2001, and 1931-2001 were stable and ranged from 9.5 to 10 ac-ft.The long-term average annual sediment yield from 1931-2001 was 9.85 ac-ft. These sedimentation rates correspond to a rate of loss of lake capacity of 0.51 percent per year (1931-2001). The sedimentation rates for Lake Mattoon and its watershed for the periods 1958-1980, 1980-2001, and 1958-2001 indicate a reduction in net sediment yield from 66.9 ac-ft per year for 1958-1980 to 10.7 ac-ft per year (1980-2001).The long-term average annual sediment yield was 39.5 ac-ft (1958-2001). These sedimentation rates correspond to rates of loss of lake capacity of 0.51 percent per year (1958-1980) and 0.08 percent per year (1980-2001).The long-term average sedimentation rate for the lake is 0.30 percent per year (1958-2001).
Brochure describes the Illinois State Water Survey (ISWS), which has been a leader in the study of water resources for more than a century. Founded in 1895, its original mission was to survey the waters of Illinois to trace the spread of waterborne disease, ensure health and safety of public water supplies, improve wastewater treatment, and help develop sanitary standards for drinking water. The mission and scope have expanded to include varied scientific research and service programs relating to water and atmospheric resources of interest to Illinois.
The Champaign County Forest Preserve District (CCFPD) applied for and received a grant to conduct a diagnostic-feasibility study on Homer Lake commencing in April 1997. Homer Lake is an 83-acre public lake within the Salt Fork River Forest Preserve in Champaign County, Illinois. The lake is located in the Second Principle Meridian, Township 19N, Range 14W, Section 31; it is 3 miles northwest of the town of Homer. Homer Lake has a maximum depth of 19 feet, a mean depth of 7.4 feet, a shoreline length of .3 miles, and an average retention time of 0.097 years. The Homer Lake watershed, including the lake surface area, is 9,280 acres. The two inflow tributaries are Conkey Branch and the west branch (unnamed). The diagnostic study was designed to delineate the existing lake conditions, to examine the cases of degradation, if any, and to identify and quantity the sources of plant nutrients and any other pollutants flowing into the lake. On the basis of the findings of the diagnostic study, water quality goals were established for the lake. Alternative management techniques were then evaluated in relation to the established goals.
Flooding, upland soil and streambank erosion, sedimentation, and contamination of drinking water from agricultural chemicals (nutrients and pesticides/herbicides) are critical environmental problems in Illinois. Upland soil erosion causes loss of fertile soil, streambank erosion causes loss of valuable riparian lands, and both contribute large quantities of sediment (soil and rock particles) in the water flowing through streams and rivers, which causes turbidity in sensitive biological resource areas and fills water supply and recreational lakes and reservoirs. Most of these physical damages occur during severe storm and flood events. Eroded soil and sediment also carry chemicals that pollute water bodies and stream/reservoir beds. Court Creek and its 97-square-mile watershed in Knox County, Illinois, experience problems with flooding and excessive streambank erosion. Several fish kills reported in the streams of this watershed were due to agricultural pollution. Because of these problems, the Court Creek watershed was selected as one of the pilot watersheds in the Illinois multi-agency Pilot Watershed Program (PWP). The watershed is located in environmentally sensitive areas of the Illinois River basin; therefore, it is also part of the Illinois Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP). Understanding and addressing the complex watershed processes of hydrology, soil erosion, transport of sediment and contaminants, and associated problems have been a century old challenge for scientists and engineers. Mathematical computer models simulating these processes are becoming inexpensive tools to analyze these complex processes, understand the problems, and find solutions through land-use changes and best management practices (BMPs). Effects of land-use changes and BMPs are analyzed by incorporating these into the model inputs. The models help in evaluating and selecting from alternative land-use and BMP scenarios that may help reduce damaging effects of flooding, soil and streambank erosion, sedimentation (sediment deposition), and contamination to the drinking water supplies and other valuable water resources. A computer model of the Court Creek watershed is under development at the Illinois State Water Survey (ISWS) using the Dynamic Watershed Simulation Model (DWSM) to help achieve the restoration goals set in the Illinois PWP and CREP by directing restoration programs in the selection and placement of BMPs. The current study is part of this effort. The DWSM uses physically based governing equations to simulate propagation of flood waves, entrainment and transport of sediment, and commonly used agricultural chemicals for agricultural and rural watersheds. The model has three major components: (1) hydrology, (2) soil erosion and sediment transport, and (3) nutrient and pesticide transport. The hydrologic model of the Court Creek watershed was developed using the hydrologic component of the DWSM, which is the basic (foundation) component simulating rainfall-runoff on overland areas, and propagation of flood waves through an overland-stream-reservoir network of the watershed. A new routine was introduced into the model to allow simulation of spatially varying rainfall events associated mainly with moving storms and localized thunderstorms. The model was calibrated and verified using three rainfall-runoff events monitored by the ISWS. The calibration and verification runs demonstrated that the model was representative of the Court Creek watershed by simulating major hydrologic processes and generating hydrographs with characteristics similar to the observed hydrographs at the monitoring stations. Therefore, model performance was promising considering watershed size, complexities of the processes being simulated, limitations of available data for model inputs, and model limitations. The model provides an inexpensive tool for preliminary investigations of the watershed for illustrating the major hydrologic processes and their dynamic interactions within the watershed, and for solving some of the associated problems using alternative land use and BMPs, evaluated through incorporating these into the model inputs. The model was used to compare flow predictions based on spatially distributed and average rainfall inputs and no difference was found because of a fairly uniform rainfall pattern for the simulated storm. However, the routine will be useful for simulating moving storms and localized thunderstorms. A test to examine effects of different watershed subdivisions with overland and channel segments found no difference in model predictions. This was because of the dynamic routing schemes in the model where dynamic behaviors were preserved irrespective of the sizes and lengths of the divided segments. Although finer subdivision does not add accuracy to the outflows, it allows investigations of spatially distributed runoff characteristics and distinguishes these among smaller areas, which helps in prioritizing areas for proper attention and restoration. The calibrated and verified model was used to simulate four synthetic (design) storms to analyze and understand the major dynamic processes in the watershed. Detailed summaries of results from these model runs are presented. These summary results were used to rank overland segments based on unit-width peak flows, which indicated potential flow strengths that may damage the landscape, and were based on runoff volumes that indicate potential flood-causing runoff amounts. Stream channel and reservoir segments also were ranked based on peak flows and indicate potential for damages to the streams. Maps were generated showing these runoff potentials of overland areas. These results may be useful in identifying and selecting critical overland areas and stream channels for implementation of necessary BMPs to control damaging effects of runoff water. The model also was used to evaluate and quantify effects of the two major lakes in the watershed in reducing downstream flood flows and demonstrating model ability to evaluate detention basins. The model was run for one of the design storms with and without the lakes. The results showed significant reduction of peak flows and delaying of their occurrences immediately downstream. These effects become less pronounced further downstream. This report presents and discusses results from the above applications of the DWSM hydrology to the Court Creek watershed along with descriptions of the watershed, formulations of the hydrology component of the DWSM, limitations of the model and available data affecting predictions, and recommendations for future work. Efforts are currently under way at the ISWS to add subsurface and tile flow routines to the DWSM that would improve model predictions and their correspondence with observed data. It is recommended that stream cross-sectional measurements be made at representative sections of all major streams in the Court Creek watershed and that stream flow monitoring be continued or established at least at outlets of major tributaries and upper and lower Court Creek. A minimum of four equally spaced raingage stations are recommended for recording continuous rainfall.
This report summarizes extensive studies of the water resources of northeastern Illinois. This 3700-hundred square mile metropolitan-industrial area includes Cook, DuPage, Kane, McHenry, Lake and Will Counties with a population of seven million persons.Water shortages, depending on resource use schemes, may approach 200 million gallons by the year 2000. Possibilities for meeting these needs are described as a guide to allocation of Lake Michigan water and future planning for water resources.
The deep bedrock aquifer system in northeastern Illinois is encountered at depths ranging from about 200 feet in areas of central northern Illinois to an average of about 1,000 feet below land surface at Chicago. The aquifers have a collective thickness of 300 to 1,300 feet in the Chicago region, averaging 700 feet. They are composed chiefly of sandstones and dolomites, although most of the water is derived from the sandstone units. Pumpage from deep bedrock wells for public and self-supplied industrial supplies in the Chicago region increased from 200,000 gallons per day (gpd) in 1864 to a peak withdrawal of 182.9 million gallons per day (mgd) in 1979. Between 1991 and 1994, pumpage decreased from 112.7 mgd to 67.1 mgd, mostly due to a shift to Lake Michigan water, particularly in DuPage County. As a result, water levels in deep wells rose between 1991 and 1995, particularly in southern Lake, eastern DuPage, and western Cook Counties. Average annual water-level rises during the four-year period varied from one foot in Kendall County to 38 feet in DuPage County and averaged about 14 feet. This marked the first time that average water-level changes were upward in all eight counties of the Chicago area since detailed record-keeping began in the 1950s.
This report is a cooperative project of the Illinois State Water Survey and StateGeological Survey. Part 1, prepared by the Geological Survey, discusses the geologic history and character of bottom sediments. Parts 2 and 3 were prepared by the Water Survey. Part 2 presents the hydraulic and hydrologic conditions of the Chain. Part 3 discusses the water quality and sources of nutrients and the living organisms. Part 3 also evaluates remedial measures found effective in other locations and proposes a reliable water managementprogram.