The Electronic Documents of Illinois provides permanent public access to official publications of the State of Illinois which have been deposited in electronic form.
In the spirit of the State's solar energy focus, and to serve the needs of the publicand those involved in the design and implementation of solar energy systems, we decided to present the readily available weather and climatic data relating to 1) solar energy and 2) the demands for energy. This report is essentially a solar data compendium for Illinois. It contains a minimum of text and consists mainly of tables and graphs, largely assembled from a wide variety of publications (many not easily found).
The long-term temporal trends of water quality in the Illinois Waterway system upstream of Peoria are described in this report. The time period investigated was from 1965 to 1995. The seasonal Kendall trend test was used to detect statistically significant trends. A related test, the seasonal Kendall slope estimator, was used to calculate the magnitude of the trend. Box plots were also used to visualize differences in data over time. The water quality analytes considered in this report include dissolved oxygen, ammonia-nitrogen, nitrate and nitrite-nitrogen, total Kejeldahl nitrogen, total phosphorous, sulfate, turbidity, total suspended solids, fecal coliform, cyanide, and phenol. Water quality was generally found improved at all stations. Substantial improvements were found at most stations for dissolved oxygen, the nitrogen species, phenol, and cyanide concentrations. Fecal coliform densities generally decreased at most locations. Little or variable change was found for turbidity, total suspended solids, and total phosphorus concentrations. Increasing trends were detected for sulfate concentrations.
A dense raingage network has operated in Cook County since the fall of 1989, to provide accurate precipitation for use in simulating runoff for purposes of Lake Michigan diversion accounting. This report describes the network design, the operations and maintenance procedures, the data reduction methodology, and an analysis of precipitation occurring during Water Year 1999 (October 1998 through September 1999). The data analyses include 1) monthly and Water Year 1999 amounts at all sites, 2) Water Year 1999 amounts in comparison to patterns from network Water Years 1990-1998, and 3) the ten-year network precipitation average for Water Years 1990-1999. Also included are: raingage site description, instructions for raingage technicians, documentation of raingage maintenance, and documentation of high storm totals.
The Illinois River has become a focus of state and federal agencies and other organizations interested in integrated watershed management. As a result, issues related to habitat restoration, floodplain management, navigation, erosion and sedimentation, and water quality of the Illinois River are being discussed at the watershed scale. In support of this effort, the Illinois Scientific Surveys have initiated development of the Illinois Rivers Decision Support System (ILRDSS) for use in documenting project activities within the watershed and assessing and evaluating the effectiveness of potential restoration projects and management practices. The ILRDSS will integrate and expand existing databases and numerical models of segments of the Illinois River into an integrated decision support system (DSS) for the entire Illinois River watershed. New databases and models also will be created for the watershed, as well as a comprehensive ILRDSS web portal to all available data and information about the Illinois River and its basin. This report describes the current status of ILRDSS development and serves as an introduction to those unfamiliar with the Illinois Rivers Decision Support System.
In the Illinois Groundwater Protection Act of 1987 (PA 85-863), the state legislature mandated that the Illinois Department of Energy and Natural Resources (DENR) conduct an "ongoing program of basic and applied research relating to groundwater," including an evaluation of pesticide impacts upon groundwater. "Such evaluation shall include the general location and extent of any contamination of groundwaters resulting from pesticide use. . . . Priority shall begven to those areas of the State where pesticides are utilized most intensively." In response to this mandate, the Illinois State Water Survey (ISWS) and the Illinois State Geological Survey (ISGS), divisions of DENR, developed a plan to assess the occurrence of agricultural chemicals in rural, private wells on a statewide basis (McKenna et al. 1989). In response to the concerns regarding the proposed statewide survey, a separate pilot study was designed, based on the recommended statewide survey, to produce tangible, documented results of well-water sampling and to demonstrate the validity of the survey design.The legislative mandate addressed the pesticide impacts on groundwater. The proposed statewide plan and the pilot study will focus on groundwater drawn from rural, private wells. This approach will maximize data acquisition on the potential for exposure of the rural residents of Illinois to agricultural chemicals (pesticides and nitrogen fertilizers) through drinking water; it will also minimize sample collection costs. Inferences drawn from this project are valid for groundwater drawn from rural, private wells and not from other sources.
The effects of river traffic on water and sediment inputs into a side channel were studied in an 18-month research project. McEver's Island, located in the Illinois River, was selected as the study site. The objectives of the research project were: 1) to collect data on factors such as suspended sediment load, water discharge, and types of sediment at a reach of a side channel which directly connects with the main river; and 2) to attempt to estimate the rate of movement of the sediment and water into a side channel in different river stages.Observations indicated that the wave height, velocity, and suspendedsediment concentration showed some significant changes during the passagesof barges. The amounts of water and sediment inputs into side channelsare relatively small compared with the background main channel dischargesand sediment loads.
Fall application of nitrogen (N) fertilizer is a common practice in Illinois to help overcome the uncertainties of spring field work and to reduce the potential for delay in planting of spring crops. If, however, the N is applied while soil temperatures are above 50F, significant N losses can occur before the crop can take up the N. The lost N can pollute the state's water supplies, resulting in harm to the environment. The objective of this work was to provide agricultural community and public access to near real-time, 4-inch bare soil temperatures measured at 10:00 a.m. Central Standard Time (CST) each day. Hourly soil temperatures are measured at 18 automated weather stations in Illinois operated by the Illinois State Water Survey (ISWS). These stations make up the Illinois Climate Network (ICN). Measured weather variables include 4-inch sodded soil temperature, solar radiation, air temperature, relative humidity, barometric pressure, precipitation, and wind speed and direction. These data are collected, quality controlled, and placed on a Web site (http://www.sws.uiuc.edu/warm/soiltemp.asp) for public access. Daily maps of the 4-inch bare soil temperature are derived from a combination of actual 4-inch bare soil measurements at 8 ICN stations and computed bare soil temperature from 4-inch sodded soil temperature measurements from the remaining 10 sites. These maps allow users to see the general pattern of the 10:00 a.m. CST soil temperature from which they can estimate soil temperature at a given location. The other measured weather variables also are presented on the Web site in map format. Steven E. Hollinger and Robert W. Scott, Water and Atmosphere Resources Monitoring Program, Atmospheric Environment Section and Office of the Chief, Illinois State Water Survey, 2204 Griffith Drive, Champaign, Illinois 61820-7945
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.
This publication represents a condensed version of an extensive report on the distributions of heavy rainstorms in Illinois, based on data for 61 precipitation stations operated during 1901-1983. Shown are annual frequency distributions of point rainfall for periods ranging from 5 minutes to 10 days and for recurrence intervals varying from 2 months to 100 years. Results are presented in two forms: mean relations for ten regions of approximately homogeneous precipitation climate, and statewide isohyetal maps based on the 61-station data The report also discusses the results of a special investigation pertaining to Chicago and the surrounding six counties subject to urban influences on the precipitation distribution. The final section of the report provides information on the urban influences on the two Illinois counties adjacent to St. Louis.
The Benchmark Sediment Monitoring Program for Illinois Streams was initiated by the Illinois State Water Survey in 1981 to generate a long-term database of suspended sediment transport. The program is now part of the Water Survey's Water and Atmospheric Resources Monitoring (WARM) Network, which monitors the climate, soil moisture, surface water, ground water, and sediment throughout Illinois. This report summarizes the suspended sediment data collected for the program during Water Years 1994 and 1995. All the techniques used in the data collection process and laboratory analyses are based on U.S. Geological Survey procedures and techniques. The report appendices present tables of instantaneous suspended sediment measurements, particle size analysis, sediment transport curves, and plots of instantaneous sediment concentrations for the period of record for the current monitoring stations.