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Title:  

Operation, maintenance, and upgrade of a 25-raingage network for collection, reduction, and analysis of precipitation data for Lake Michigan diversion accounting : Water Year 2001

 
 Volume/Number:  2002  
 Issuing Agency:   
 Description:  A dense raingage network has operated in Cook County since the fall of 1989, to provide accurate precipitation for use in simulating runoff for Lake Michigan diversion accounting. This report describes the network design, the operations and maintenance procedures, the data reduction and quality control methodology, a comparison of rainfall amounts obtained via analog chart and data logger, and an analysis of precipitation for Water Year 2001 (October 2000 - September 2001). The data analyses include 1) monthly and Water Year 2001 amounts at all sites, 2) Water Year 2001 amounts in comparison to patterns from network Water Years 1990-2000, and 3) the 12-year network precipitation average for Water Years 1990-2001. Also included are raingage site descriptions, instructions for raingage technicians, documentation of raingage maintenance, and documentation of high storm totals. 
 Date Created:  9 24 2004 
 Agency ID:  CR-2002-03 
 ISL ID:  000000000860   Original UID: 999999994340 FIRST WORD: Operation, 
 

Title:  

Operation of rain gauge and groundwater monitoring networks for the Imperial Valley Water Authority. Year Eight : September 1999-August 2000.

 
 Volume/Number:  2001  
 Issuing Agency:   
 Description:  The Illinois State Water Survey (ISWS), under contract to the Imperial Valley Water Authority (IVWA), has operated a network of rain gauges in Mason and Tazewell Counties since August 1992. The ISWS also established a network of groundwater observation wells in the Mason-Tazewell area in 1994. These networks are located in the most heavily irrigated region of the state. The region's major source of water for irrigation, municipal, and domestic water supplies is groundwater pumped from thick sand-and-gravel deposits associated with the confluence of two major ancient river valleys, the Mississippi and the Mahomet-Teays. Relatively recent extreme weather events (e.g., the drought of 1988 and the great flood of 1993) resulted in large fluctuations in groundwater levels in the Imperial Valley area. The purpose of the rain gauge network and the groundwater observation well network is to collect long-term data to determine the rate of groundwater drawdown in dry periods and during the growing season, and the rate at which the aquifer recharges. This report presents data accumulated from the rain gauge and observation well networks since their inception through August 2000. Precipitation is recorded continuously at 20 rain gauges for each storm that traverses the Imperial Valley. Groundwater levels at the 13 observation wells are measured the first of each month. The database from these networks consists of eight years of precipitation data and six years of groundwater observations. At the beginning of groundwater observations in late 1994, the water levels were at their highest in the six years of observation. These high groundwater levels were the result of the very wet 1992-1995 period when annual precipitation was above the 30-year normals at both Havana and Mason City. From September 1995-August 1997, precipitation in the region was well below the 30-year normal followed by the 1997-1998 and 1998-1999 observation years with rainfall totals that were slightly above and slightly below normal, respectively. Groundwater levels in the observation wells reflected the multi-year rainfall patterns, showing a general downward trend during the dry years, a recovery in the wet 1997-1998 year, and a leveling off in 1998-1999. Precipitation in the region during observation year 1999-2000 was well below normal, mirroring the quite low totals observed during the dry years of 1995-1997. In response, groundwater levels fell to levels similar to those experienced in 1996-1997. Analysis indicates that groundwater levels are affected by both the precipitation in the Imperial Valley area and, for wells close to the Illinois River, by river stage. Generally, water levels in wells follow antecedent precipitation and Illinois River stage by one to two months, i.e., June groundwater levels are most highly correlated with the Illinois River stage or precipitation that occurs in April or May. The analyses conducted indicate the need for continued operation of both networks due to inconsistencies associated with groundwater levels, precipitation, and the Illinois River stage. For instance, although observation well number 2 (MTOW-2) is located near the center of Mason County, well away from the Illinois River, it has an equal correlation with the Illinois River stage and area precipitation. Additional data collection and analyses are needed to determine the reasons for this and other data disparities. 
 Date Created:  9 24 2004 
 Agency ID:  CR-2001-15 
 ISL ID:  000000000856   Original UID: 999999994332 FIRST WORD: Operation 
 

Title:  

Operation of rain gauge and groundwater monitoring networks for the Imperial Valley Water Authority. Year Nine : September 2000 - August 2001

 
 Volume/Number:  2002  
 Issuing Agency:   
 Description:  The Illinois State Water Survey (ISWS), under contract to the Imperial Valley Water Authority (IVWA), has operated a network of rain gauges in Mason and Tazewell Counties since August 1992. The ISWS also established a network of groundwater observation wells in the Mason-Tazewell area in 1994. These networks are located in the most heavily irrigated region of the state. The region's major source of water for irrigation and municipal, industrial, and domestic water supplies is groundwater pumped from thick sand-and-gravel deposits associated with the confluence of two major ancient river valleys, the Mississippi and the Mahomet-Teays. Recent extreme weather events (e.g., the drought of 1988 and the great flood of 1993) resulted in large fluctuations in groundwater levels in the Imperial Valley area. The rain gauge network and the groundwater observation well network collect long-term data to determine the rate of groundwater level decline in dry periods and during the growing season, and the rate of groundwater level recovery during recharge periods. This report presents data accumulated from the rain gauge and observation well networks since their inception through August 2001. Precipitation is recorded continuously at 20 rain gauges for each storm that traverses the Imperial Valley. Groundwater levels at the 13 observation wells are measured the first of each month. The database from these networks consists of nine years of precipitation data and seven years of groundwater observations. At the beginning of groundwater observations in late 1994, the water levels were at their highest in the seven years of observation. These high groundwater levels were the result of the very wet 1992-1995 period when annual precipitation was above the 30-year normals at both Havana and Mason City. From September 1995-August 1997, precipitation in the region was well below the 30-year normal followed by the 1997-1998 and 1998-1999 observation years with rainfall totals slightly above and slightly below normal, respectively. Groundwater levels in the observation wells reflected the multi-year rainfall patterns, showing a general downward trend during dry years, a recovery in wet 1997-1998, and a leveling off in near-normal 1998-1999, followed by declines in dry 1999-2000. Despite a dry July, near-normal precipitation in 2001 brought a return to more typical seasonal hydrographs. This report includes new regression analyses of data collected through August 2001, similar to regression analyses first conducted on data collected through August 1998. The analyses indicate that groundwater levels are affected by precipitation in the Imperial Valley area and, for wells close to the Illinois River, by river stage. Generally, water levels in wells follow antecedent precipitation and Illinois River stage by one to two months; e.g., a high correlation between June groundwater levels and the Illinois River stage or precipitation that occurs in April or May. However, additional data collected since 1998 did not improve the results of the regression analyses. In fact, coefficients of determination for many regressions worsened. This suggests that regressions of observed groundwater levels versus river stage and precipitation are not adequately describing all the variables affecting groundwater levels. Using the data collected to verify, test, and improve the existing Imperial Valley groundwater flow model is highly recommended. Continued data collection also is recommended to create long-term data sets of precipitation and groundwater levels for use in modeling analyses. Collection of additional groundwater level and irrigation pumpage data also is highly recommended. 
 Date Created:  9 24 2004 
 Agency ID:  CR-2002-07 
 ISL ID:  000000000869   Original UID: 999999994345 FIRST WORD: Operation 
 

Title:  

Operation of rain gauge and ground-water monitoring networks for the Imperial Valley Water Authority, year seven : September 1998-August 1999

 
 Volume/Number:  2000  
 Issuing Agency:   
 Description:  The Illinois State Water Survey (ISWS), under contract to the Imperial Valley Water Authority (IVWA), has operated a network of rain gauges in Mason and Tazewell Counties since August 1992. The ISWS also established a network of ground-water observation wells in the Mason-Tazewell area in 1994. These networks are located in the most heavily irrigated region of the state. The region's major source of water for irrigation, municipal, and domestic water supplies is ground water pumped from thick sand and gravel deposits associated with the confluence of two major ancient river valleys, the Mississippi and the Mahomet-Teays. Relatively recent extreme weather events (e.g., the drought of 1988 and the great flood of 1993) resulted in large fluctuations in ground-water levels in the Imperial Valley area. The purpose of the rain gauge network and the ground-water observation well network is to collect long-term data to determine the rate of ground-water drawdown in dry periods and during the growing season, and the rate at which the aquifer recharges. This report presents data accumulated from the rain gauge and observation well networks since their inception through August and November 1999, respectively. Precipitation is recorded for each storm that traverses the Imperial Valley, and ground-water levels at the 13 observation wells are measured the first of each month. The database from these networks consists of seven years of precipitation data and five years of ground-water observations. At the beginning of the ground-water observations in late 1994, the water levels were at their highest in the five years of observation. These high ground-water levels were the result of the very wet 1992-1995 period when annual precipitation was above the 30-year normals at both Havana and Mason City. From September 1995-August 1997 precipitation in the region was below the 30-year normal. The 1997-1998 observation year had rainfall above the 30-year normal. Ground-water levels in the observation wells mirrored these rainfall patterns, showing a general downward trend during the dry years and a recovery in the wet 1997-1998 year. Seasonal increases in the ground-water levels were observed at most wells during the late spring and early summer, followed by decreases in August-November ground-water levels. Analysis indicates that the ground-water levels are affected by both the precipitation in the Imperial Valley area and the Illinois River stages. The observation wells closest to the Illinois River show an increase in water levels whenever the river stage is high. Generally, the water levels in the wells correlate best with precipitation and Illinois River stages one to two months before the water levels are measured, i.e., the June ground-water levels are most highly correlated with the Illinois River stage or precipitation that occurs in either April or May. The analyses conducted indicate the need for continued operation of both networks due to inconsistencies associated with ground-water levels, precipitation, and the Illinois River stage. For instance, the Mason-Tazwell observation well number 2 (MTOW-2) is located near the center of Mason County well away from the Illinois River, but it has an equal correlation with the Illinois River stage and the precipitation in the area. Additional analysis needs to be undertaken to explain this unusual finding. 
 Date Created:  9 24 2004 
 Agency ID:  CR-2000-12 
 ISL ID:  000000000830   Original UID: 999999994307 FIRST WORD: Operation 
 

Title:  

Operation of the rain gauge and groundwater monitoring networks for the Imperial Valley Water Authority, Year Eleven: September 2002 - August 2003.

 
 Volume/Number:  2005  
 Issuing Agency:   
 Description:  The Illinois State Water Survey (ISWS), under contract to the Imperial Valley Water Authority (IVWA), has operated a network of rain gauges in Mason and Tazewell Counties since August 1992. The ISWS also established a network of groundwater observation wells in the Mason-Tazewell area in 1994 that is monitored by the IVWA. The purpose of the rain gauge network and the groundwater observation well network is to collect long-term data to determine the impact of groundwater withdrawals in dry periods and during the growing season, and the rate at which the aquifer recharges. This report presents data accumulated from both networks since their inception through August 2003. Precipitation is recorded continuously at 20 rain gauges. Groundwater levels are measured the first of each month at 13 observation wells. The database from these networks consists of 11 years of precipitation data and nine years of groundwater observations. For the period September 2002-August 2003, the network received an average of 30.06 inches of precipitation, 5.84 inches lower than the network 10-year 1992-2002 average precipitation. Precipitation was below average in the fall, winter, and spring, but above average during the summer of 2003. In 2002-2003, groundwater levels in many wells tended to follow the now-familiar pattern of rising water levels in early spring and peaks in mid-summer before evapotranspiration demands cause water levels to decline. However, the extremely low precipitation that occurred from the period September 2002 through May 2003 (9.23 inches below the 11-year normal) caused a weak recovery before the irrigation season started. Several wells (MTOW-4, -10, -11, and -13) experienced essentially no water-level recovery during this reporting period. Water levels in MTOW-13, in particular, fell throughout the year. That well is located in northeastern Mason County, the area of lowest precipitation. Total irrigation for the June-September period was estimated to be 46 billion gallons (bg), the fourth highest total since monitoring began in 1995 and ranked just after the 47 bg in both 2001 and 2002. This can be attributed, in part, to the growth of irrigation systems in the Imperial Valley, which now has 1,867 systems. To improve our understanding of the relationship between groundwater, stream discharge, and irrigation, an irrigation test site was initiated in April 2003. Nine observation wells were installed in close proximity to an irrigated field that abuts Crane Creek. Transducers with data loggers were installed in two wells in June 2003 to monitor groundwater levels and in Crane Creek to monitor stream stage. Preliminary data are presented. 
 Date Created:  9 15 2005 
 Agency ID:  CR-2005-06 
 ISL ID:  000000000911   Original UID: 999999994457 FIRST WORD: Operation 
 

Title:  

Overview of recommended Phase III water quality monitoring: Fox River investigation.

 
 Volume/Number:  2005  
 Issuing Agency:   
 Description:  This water quality monitoring plan describes the monitoring recommended to provide data needed to improve calibration of the watershed loading (HSPF) and receiving stream (QUAL2) models for the Fox River watershed. Various monitoring schemes were considered in light of available resources. Data gaps identified in the Phase I report as well as preliminary model simulations also were considered in preparing this monitoring plan. Because available resources are a limiting factor, closing data gaps is the primary objective of the proposed monitoring plan. Should additional funds become available, specific additional data collection scenarios would enhance the reliability of the models. These recommendations are written to be incorporated by the Fox River Study Group, Inc. (FRSG) into the request for proposals (RFP) to conduct the monitoring. The proposed monitoring requires installation and operation of the following: (1) 9 hourly precipitation stations, (2) 11 stream flow gages, (3) 29 ambient water quality monitoring sites, and (4) 16 stations with continuous operation during selected low flow periods. In addition, active combined sewer overflows shall be sampled, five sediment oxygen demand tests shall be performed on the Fox River mainstem, and bed substrate from ten sites shall be analyzed. Preliminary site locations are identified. 
 Date Created:  12 21 2005 
 Agency ID:  CR-2005-13 
 ISL ID:  000000000940   Original UID: 999999994470 FIRST WORD: Overview