Organization | • | Illinois State Water Survey | [X] |
| | | | Title: | | | | | Volume/Number: | 1987 | | | | Issuing Agency: | | | | | Description: | A major study of Illinois droughts was conducted to develop a basis for quantitative assessments of drought conditions in Illinois. Such information should aid decision making related to local and state actions to ameliorate the effects of future droughts. Those who must deal directly with aspects of drought need to know 1) whether a drought is developing, 2) how severe the drought is at any given time, and 3) how long the drought will last. This report provides information to help address those questions. The report draws upon relevant results of in-depth studies of most critical aspects of drought, including the ways drought is reflected in the major components of the hydrologic cycle. Procedures are given for assessing drought presence and severity in terms of precipitation conditions, soil moisture conditions, shallow groundwater levels, and streamflows. Routine monitoring of these four conditions, coupled with the use of relationships developed in the drought study, serves to detect the onset of droughts in Illinois. Methods for determining the end of drought are not perfect, but the report discusses means by which the termination of drought can be estimated. | | | | Date Created: | 9 24 2004 | | | | Agency ID: | C-169 | | | | ISL ID: | 000000000761 Original UID: 999999993827 FIRST WORD: Detecting | |
| | | Title: | | | | | Volume/Number: | 2005 | | | | Issuing Agency: | | | | | Description: | This study provides a scientific basis for developing a classification system in support of nutrient criteria development for streams and rivers based on their susceptibility to algal growth. Those streams having high algal biomass as a result of low nutrient concentration are considered susceptible to algal growth. Conversely, streams having low algal biomass and high nutrient concentration are considered less susceptible to algal growth. The process of setting nutrient criteria is complex due to various designated water uses that require different levels of water-quality protection. That complexity is compounded further by the diversity in habitat conditions. Scientists have found that a stream's response to nutrient enrichment depends on various habitat factors such as water velocity, canopy cover along the streambank, and stream width/depth. Habitat conditions may differ considerably from one reach to another and also from season to season. To account for this spatial and temporal variability, monthly aggregated reach-scale habitat conditions were used to develop the classification system. Algae are either the direct or indirect cause of most problems related to nutrient enrichment. In this study, statistical methods were applied to develop a relationship between algal biomass and nutrients (total nitrogen and total phosphorus). Residuals of the developed relationship were considered to be attributable to stream susceptibility to algal growth. Variability of the residuals (i.e., susceptibility values) then can be explained by habitat conditions. Two sets of monitoring data for Illinois streams and rivers were used to develop the statistical models. The susceptibility-habitat model uses habitat monitoring data to predict stream susceptibility, and classify these streams based on their susceptibility. Eventually, the classification system may be used to develop site-specific nutrient standards based on stream tolerance to nutrients. It also can be used to prioritize streams and rivers for the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) and for watershed management purposes. This two-stage model approach was tested on two datasets for Illinois. The Fox River dataset included nine locations on the Fox River in Lake, McHenry, Kane, Kendall, and LaSalle Counties. The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) dataset included extensive habitat factors and nutrient data observed at 142 locations on rivers and streams throughout the state. Those data were used to estimate the nonlinear regression model (f1) for calculating susceptibility based on the habitat factors. Validation entailed comparing predicted susceptibility with 'observed' susceptibility calculated as a residual from the nutrients-algal biomass (chlorophyll a) nonlinear regression model (f2). Various combinations of linear or squared inputs were examined for both f1 and f2 models, and those models giving the best-fit statistics were identified. Results show how the proposed two-stage model could be implemented for watershed classification based on stream susceptibility. Longer, more complete datasets will be required in the future to further test the results and to finetune the models, however. | | | | Date Created: | 5 10 2005 | | | | Agency ID: | CR-2005-02 | | | | ISL ID: | 000000000876 Original UID: 999999994451 FIRST WORD: Development | |
| | | Title: | | | | | Volume/Number: | 2005 | | | | Issuing Agency: | | | | | Description: | The Climate-Weather Research and Forecasting (CWRF) is the climate extension of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model, incorporating all WRF functionalities for numerical weather predictions while enhancing the capability for climate applications. This report focuses on the construction and implementation of surface boundary conditions (SBCs) specifically designed for CWRF mesoscale modeling applications. The primary SBCs include surface topography (mean elevation, slope, curvature, and their standard deviations); bedrock, lakebed, or seafloor depth; soil sand, and clay fraction profiles; surface albedo localization factor; bottom soil temperature; surface characteristic identification; land cover category; fractional vegetation cover; leaf and stem area index; sea surface temperature, salinity, and current; and sea temperature and salinity profiles. They are currently presented in a CWRF domain suitable for the U.S applications at 30-kilometer spacing. The raw data sources and processing procedures, however, are elaborated in detail, by which the SBCs can be readily constructed for any specific CWRF domain anywhere in the world. For a specific field, alternative data sources, if available, were compared to quantify uncertainties and suggest the choice or improvement. | | | | Date Created: | 2 8 2005 | | | | Agency ID: | SR-2005-01 | | | | ISL ID: | 000000000950 Original UID: 999999994441 FIRST WORD: Development | |
| | | Title: | | | | | Volume/Number: | 2000 | | | | Issuing Agency: | | | | | Description: | In the East St. Louis vicinity, the Illinois Department of Transportation, Division of Highways (IDOT) owns 55 high-capacity wells that are used to maintain the elevation of the ground-water table below the highway surface in areas where the highway is depressed below the original land surface. The dewatering systems are located at five sites in the alluvial valley of the Mississippi River in an area known as the American Bottoms. The alluvial deposits at the dewatering sites are about 90 to 115 feet thick and consist of fine sand, silt, and clay in the upper 10 to 30 feet, underlain by medium to coarse sand about 70 to 100 feet thick. The condition and efficiency of a number of the dewatering wells became suspect in 1982 on the basis of data collected and reviewed by IDOT staff. Since 1983, IDOT and the Illinois State Water Survey (ISWS) have conducted a cooperative investigation to more adequately assess the operation and condition of the wells, to attempt to understand the probable causes of well deterioration, and to evaluate rehabilitation procedures used on the wells. Work conducted during FY 95 (Phase 12) included monitoring the rehabilitation of four wells, step-testing the rehabilitated wells and checking the discharge from two wells for sand pumpage, checking the quality of the water discharged during the step tests, and monitoring the ground-water levels at the dewatering system sites. Posttreatment step tests were used to help document the rehabilitation of four dewatering wells, Interstate-70 (I-70) Wells 3A, 5, 11A, and 15, during FY 95 (Phase 12). Chemical treatments used to restore the capacity of these four wells were moderately successful. The improvement in specific capacity per well averaged about 103 percent based on data from pre- and posttreatment step tests. The specific capacity of I-70 Well 15 was restored to about 109 percent of the average observed specific capacity of wells in good condition at the I-70 site and the other three wells were restored to about 72 to 87 percent of the average observed specific capacity for wells in good condition. The sand pumpage investigation conducted during the posttreatment step tests on I-70 Wells 3A and 11A showed little or insignificant amounts of sand in the portable settling tank after the step tests. The tank was required to divert the discharged water into the stormwater drainage system during the other two step tests, precluding a check for sand pumpage. | | | | Date Created: | 9 24 2004 | | | | Agency ID: | CR-2000-10 | | | | ISL ID: | 000000000829 Original UID: 999999994306 FIRST WORD: Dewatering | |
| | | Title: | | | | | Volume/Number: | 2003 | | | | Issuing Agency: | | | | | Description: | In the East St. Louis vicinity, the Illinois Department of Transportation Division of Highways (IDOT) owns 56 high-capacity wells that are used to maintain the elevation of the groundwater table below the highway surface in areas in which the highways were constructed below the original land surface. The dewatering systems are located at five sites in the alluvial valley of the Mississippi River in an area known as the American Bottoms. The alluvial deposits at the dewatering sites are about 90 to 115 feet thick and consist of fine sand, silt, and clay in the upper 10 to 30 feet, underlain by about 70 to 100 feet of medium to coarse sand. The condition and efficiency of a number of the dewatering wells became suspect in 1982 on the basis of data collected and reviewed by IDOT staff. Since 1983, IDOT and the Illinois State Water Survey have conducted a cooperative investigation to more adequately assess the operation and condition of the wells, to attempt to understand the probable causes of well deterioration, and to evaluate rehabilitation procedures used on the wells. Work scheduled for FY 00 (Phase 17) included conducting 18 condition-assessment and posttreatment step tests, monitoring of the chemical treatment of 11 wells, and observing and documenting the construction of 2 new (replacement) dewatering wells. Of the 18 step tests conducted, 11 were post-chemical-treatment step tests, 5 were routine condition assessment step tests on existing wells, and 2 were condition assessments on newly constructed wells. The results of the five condition assessment step tests indicated specific capacities ranging from 25.1 to 65.2 gallons per minute per foot (gpm/ft), corresponding to very poor to fair well conditions, respectively. It was recommended that all five wells be chemically treated in FY01. Posttreatment step tests were used to help document the rehabilitation of 11 dewatering wells during FY 00 (Phase 17): I-70 Wells 2A and 8A; 25th Street Wells 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, and 9; and Missouri Avenue Wells 2 and 3. Chemical treatments used to restore the capacity of these seven wells were moderately successful. There was a wide range of improvement in specific capacity per well, ranging from 2 percent to 503 percent improvement, and averaging 124 percent based on specific-capacity data from pre- and posttreatment step tests. A sand pumpage investigation, which was conducted during 15 of the 18 step tests during FY 00, revealed that 25th Street Wells 2, 3, and 4 were pumping sand. These conditions may pose a threat to the long-term operation of these wells, especially 25th Street Well 4. Smaller amounts of sand were found following the step test for 25th Street Wells 2 and 3. | | | | Date Created: | 9 24 2004 | | | | Agency ID: | CR-2003-08 | | | | ISL ID: | 000000000874 Original UID: 999999994406 FIRST WORD: Dewatering | |
| | | Title: | | | | | Volume/Number: | | | | | Issuing Agency: | | | | | Description: | The purpose of the Illinois State Water Survey study was to assimilate data from studies and databases to make a preliminary assessment of the extent of arsenic contamination in the Mahomet aquifer and determine how the new maximum contaminant level would affect water supplies. | | | | Date Created: | 12 17 2001 | | | | Agency ID: | | | | | ISL ID: | 000000001911 Original UID: 1779 FIRST WORD: Distribution | |
| | | Title: | | | | | Volume/Number: | 2006 | | | | Issuing Agency: | | | | | Description: | The provision of adequate and secure supplies of clean water at reasonable cost is a cornerstone of social and economic development and national security. Major droughts have occurred in the past and will occur again in the future. Such droughts have two major impacts on small community water systems: water supply is reduced (surface waters and shallow groundwater) and water demand increases. The combination of these impacts can result in major stresses on the ability of water systems to meet demand. Many Western states have experienced widespread and severe economic and environmental impacts of 'worst-case' droughts in recent years, and have recognized from these experiences the importance of improved water-supply planning and management, including drought preparedness. However, it is probable that many system managers in the Midwest Technology Assistance Center (MTAC) region have not evaluated their capability to meet water demand during major droughts, nor have in place adequate plans to deal with such emergencies. The MTAC region incorporates the 10 states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, and Wisconsin. | | | | Date Created: | 2 21 2006 | | | | Agency ID: | CR-2006-01 | | | | ISL ID: | 000000000955 Original UID: 999999994476 FIRST WORD: Drought | |
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