Organization | • | Illinois State Water Survey | [X] |
| | | | Title: | | | | | Volume/Number: | 2001 | | | | Issuing Agency: | | | | | Description: | Demand for water in Illinois is increasing, and water shortages in the Chicago metropolitan area have been projected. There are, however, limits to the availability of clean water at a reasonable cost. Limitsto water availability are imposed by a number of factors including droughts, legal requirements to maintain minimum flows in rivers and streams, water recharge rates, and a decree of the United States Supreme Court limiting withdrawal of water from Lake Michigan. In addition, the specter of regional climate change could pose the greatest threat to Illinois water supplies over the long term: some projections show the possibility of persistent floods, whereas other projections show persistent droughts. Additional sources of water do exist and can be tapped, but the cost of providing clean water increases with the necessity of water treatment, storage, and distribution, and the mitigation of impacts of new withdrawals on existing water supplies. Long lead times also are needed to construct major water projects. Unless the water supplies of Illinois are planned and managed in a comprehensive, regional, and visionary manner--based on the concept of renewable water supply capacity--water shortages could soon occur in some parts of the state. Water supply planning and management should be based on improved understanding and prediction of water supply and demand, and risk assessment. The goal of this plan is to provide a framework for Illinois State Water Survey (ISWS) water supply programs and to document those studies that ISWS, working with others, needs to conduct to provide Illinois with comprehensive technical data and information, models, and training for water supply planning and management. The following are the main tasks described in the plan: Collaborate with other organizations to coordinate and integrate relevant programs, set priorities, plan activities, conduct studies, and seek additional resources. Assemble, archive, digitize, analyze, and synthesize existing data. Determine areas of possible water shortages as a basis for setting priorities. Evaluate the quantity and quality of water resources throughout the state as they relate to water supply. Provide yield estimates for major aquifers and surface waters under variable and changing climatic conditions. Identify critical data gaps and conduct field studies to gather additional data and monitor the state's water resources. Evaluate opportunities for water conservation and reuse. Interpret and apply technical and economic data to assist and train water resource planners and managers. Develop and improve methods and models to evaluate water resources. Develop new quality-assured databases and an Internet-based decision support system to make data and models easily available for application by other agencies, professionals, and the general public. The rate and order of implementation of these studies will depend upon the level and sources of funds and priorities and upon collaborative efforts with other organizations. Existing resources are addressing many of these topics, but resources are limited so progress will be slow. A major infusion of new resources is needed for timely implementation of the studies described. | | | | Date Created: | 9 24 2004 | | | | Agency ID: | IEM-2001-03 | | | | ISL ID: | 000000000898 Original UID: 999999994331 FIRST WORD: Plan | |
| | | Title: | | | | | Volume/Number: | 2002 | | | | Issuing Agency: | | | | | Description: | Brochure describing the Illinois State Climatologist, which is located in Champaign, Illinois, at the Illinois State Water Survey (ISWS). The ISWS, a division of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources Office of Scientific Research and Analysis and an affiliated agency of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, is the primary agency in Illinois for research and information on surface water, groundwater, and the atmosphere. | | | | Date Created: | 9 24 2004 | | | | Agency ID: | IEM-2002-01 | | | | ISL ID: | 000000000899 Original UID: 999999994338 FIRST WORD: Illinois | |
| | | Title: | | | | | Volume/Number: | 2002 | | | | Issuing Agency: | | | | | Description: | 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 concentrations and instantaneous sediment loads. The program is now part of the Water Survey's Water and Atmospheric Resources Monitoring (WARM) Network, which monitors climate, soil moisture, surface water, groundwater, and sediment throughout Illinois. This report summarizes the suspended sediment data collected for the program during Water Years 1998 and 1999. 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. | | | | Date Created: | 9 24 2004 | | | | Agency ID: | DCS-2002-01 | | | | ISL ID: | 000000000900 Original UID: 999999994339 FIRST WORD: Benchmark | |
| | | Title: | | | | | Volume/Number: | 2002 | | | | Issuing Agency: | | | | | Description: | In response to expanding urban development, the use of Lake Michigan and other sources for public water supplies, and a growing interest in regional water resources development, this report provides a detailed discussion of groundwater withdrawals and water levels in northeastern Illinois. The water-level portion of this report covers a 15-county area from Lake Michigan to north-central Illinois and from the Wisconsin border south to Kankakee County. Particular emphasis, however, has been given to deep well pumpage in the eight counties of the Chicago region because of the significant shift in the late twentieth century from groundwater supplies of the deep bedrock aquifers to Lake Michigan and other sources. This report details the fall 2000 water-level measurement of wells reaching to the St.Peter and Ironton-Galesville sandstones (deep bedrock aquifers), provides a map illustrating the slope of groundwater levels, and compares the fall 2000 levels to the fall 1995 observations. The rapid decrease in groundwater pumpage from the deep bedrock aquifers during the 1980s initially resulted in a rapid recovery of groundwater levels. However, the rate of water-level change has slowed since the mid-1990s. The greatest recovery during the past five years occurred in Cook County. Groundwater levels in several wells were observed to have risen more than 50 feet since 1995. Where the deep bedrock aquifers of Cambrian-Ordovician age continue to be used, declines in groundwater levels were observed. Most notable declines were in southeastern Kane and northern Kendall Counties, southwestern Lake County, and southeastern McHenry County. Outside the Chicago region, water-level declines were observed in deep wells at Loves Park in Winnebago County and in the vicinity of DeKalb and Sycamore in DeKalb County. | | | | Date Created: | 9 24 2004 | | | | Agency ID: | DCS-2002-02 | | | | ISL ID: | 000000000901 Original UID: 999999994346 FIRST WORD: A | |
| | | Title: | | | | | Volume/Number: | 2003 | | | | Issuing Agency: | | | | | Description: | Soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration is important to climate change and cropland agriculture. Crops naturally use the greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide (CO2), from the atmosphere; the greater the crop productivity, the greater the amount of CO2 used. Agronomic practices that enhance sequestration of crop biomass in soil as SOC also enhance removal of CO2 from the atmosphere, and improve and sustain soil fertility. To effectively reduce the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere and mitigate climate change, sequestration of SOC must be long term, defined as decades or longer. This report presents a review and synthesis of scientific understanding of SOC sequestration, based on the history and genesis of soils and vegetation in Illinois, and the response of SOC and crops to agronomic practices. Recommendations for future cropland SOC research are made. The scientific literature is reviewed in light of the Illinois conditions affecting the five interactive soil-forming factors that are widely recognized (biology, parent material, climate, topography, and time). The literature also shows that human activity can be considered a sixth soil-forming factor. Native American land-use practices of whole ecosystem manipulation were important in governing soil formation and SOC contents in Illinois, as were the land-use practices of the settlers who displaced them. An important finding of this work is that to reduce the atmospheric CO2 content and sustain cropland agriculture, SOC must be sequestered throughout the soil profile. The modern literature reports SOC increases when tillage is changed from conventional to conservation tillage practices. However, SOC measurements are surficial, usually no more than the top 30 cm, with most of the C being sequestered in the top 15 cm. The unstated assumption in the modern literature is that surficial SOC changes represent all the SOC changes in the soil profile. This work shows that the SOC losses in the deeper soil layers may overwhelm surficial SOC increases. In order to assert that C is being sequestered in the soil, the whole-soil profile must be considered. It is recommended that future research into SOC sequestration be conducted from a whole-plant/whole-soil perspective in a soil genesis context using the following strategies. Mine the Literature. Most of the literature needed to provide the requisite whole-plant/whole-soil perspective and soil genesis context is scattered and not organized, summarized, or synthesized in the current SOC sequestration literature. The evolution of SOC sequestration research has been a narrowing of perspective away from the more holistic whole-plant/whole-soil perspective of the foundational agronomic literature to the perspective of the near-surface soil layer. This vast foundational literature needs to be located, restored, and incorporated with the current literature on crop rhizosphere and C and nutrient cycles throughout the whole-soil profile, soil genesis, soil fertility, subsoil amelioration, and other literatures to be organized, summarized, and synthesized into the SOC sequestration literature. Long-term Whole Plant/Whole Soil Monitoring and Assessment. Assessment of the effects of agronomic practices on SOC must be expanded to include the whole-soil profile. Improved estimates of presettlement soil SOC contents are needed to better assess SOC loss and SOC sequestration potential of Illinois' prairie and forest soils. The magnitude and swiftness with which natural factors govern SOC contents need to be better identified and quantified while incorporating a more comprehensive definition of soil aging along with consideration of presettlement and postsettlement anthropogenic landscape management practices as soil-forming factors. SOC Sequestration Research. Finally, research on how agronomic practices can increase SOC throughout the soil profile needs to be conducted from a whole-plant/whole-soil perspective in a soil genesis context. This report indicates that the optimal way to sequester SOC is to convert land back to native prairie, burn frequently, add fertilizers, and remove anthropogenic surface and subsurface drainage. Such an approach is not practical. Constraints on optimizing cropland SOC sequestration include: 1) the need to maintain good soil drainage in Illinois soils for timely spring planting that allows for growth of long-season corn hybrids and soybean varieties; and 2) maintaining soil-nutrient levels that do not result in water-quality issues. Within these constraints, the authors hypothesize that SOC sequestration can best be done by 1) developing balanced soil-fertility programs and other agronomic practices that restore soil nutrients to levels optimum for plant growth, promote movement of plant nutrients throughout the root zone using organic and/or inorganic carriers, and promote deep rooting of plants with minimal mechanical disturbance of the soil by tillage; and 2) developing chemical pest control programs that minimize the effects of pesticides on soil bacteria, and microfauna and macrofauna, thus promoting conversion of biomass to SOC, pedoturbation and net movement of SOC through the soil profile, and creation of soil structure and aggregation that optimize biomass production and conversion to stabilized SOC. Research on the development of these practices must include evaluation of nutrient movement into ground and surface waters. Losses of SOC have occurred on the order of the century time scale. SOC sequestration and the measure of its success (permanence of SOC sequestration) are also necessarily measured on the order of the century time scale. Therefore, long-term (20- to 30-year) agronomic SOC sequestration research at both the farm and individual plot level needs to be designed and conducted for hypothesis and model testing, as well as evaluation of the permanence of SOC in the surface and whole-soil profile. Even longer term research needs to be designed and conducted for hypothesis refinement and for monitoring. | | | | Date Created: | 9 24 2004 | | | | Agency ID: | CR-2003-02 | | | | ISL ID: | 000000000902 Original UID: 999999994351 FIRST WORD: Identification | |
| | | Title: | | | | | Volume/Number: | 2003 | | | | Issuing Agency: | | | | | Description: | Temporal fluctuations in the annual and summer precipitation across the Midwest during the 1898-2002 period are defined and described. Precipitation amounts were assessed for 15-year periods to show how patterns of precipitation have shifted spatially over the 20th Century. The early part of the century featured near average precipitation conditions, followed by predomi-nately dry conditions from 1928 through 1957. For example, during 1928-1942, 96 percent of the Midwest had below average precipitation. After 15 years with near average conditions from 1958 to 1972, extremely wet conditions developed during 1973-2002, with 91 percent of the Midwest experiencing above average precipitation. Extreme precipitation values sampled during each 15-year period revealed temporal differences with much more extreme amounts during wet and dry periods than during near average periods. Annual totals reflected the long-term variations in summer rainfall, revealing the importance of summer rainfall in determining annual amounts. Regionally, amounts were below average more frequently in the southern Midwest than in the central and northern Midwest. Values were above average more frequently in the northern Mid-west than in the central and southern Midwest. The results provide information that should be useful for hydrologic and agricultural planning and assessments. | | | | Date Created: | 9 24 2004 | | | | Agency ID: | DCS-2003-01 | | | | ISL ID: | 000000000903 Original UID: 999999994402 FIRST WORD: Temporal | |
| | | Title: | | | | | Volume/Number: | 2003 | | | | Issuing Agency: | | | | | Description: | Two August 2002 rainstorms, one centered in Illinois and Indiana on August 18-19, and one in Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin on August 21-22, created record-setting point rainfalls of >10 inches and >12 inches, respectively. Return intervals of both storms' heavy rain amounts for 3-, 6-, and 12- hour durations exceeded once in 100-year values. Storm characteristics were similar to those of 36 past rainstorms during 1951-2001 that also were investigated in comparable detail. The similarities included the fact that most of the rain fell over 8 hours at night, storm areas were oriented west-east, and the region with >2 inches covered more than 9,000 square miles. Synoptically, conditions were similar to those of most past rainstorms: the storms developed south of an west-east-oriented front, precipitable water values were exceptionally high, >1.7 inches, and the frontal position and low-level jet stream proximity led to training of thunderstorms along the same path. However, the August 2002 rainstorms were different than past rainstorms in that the two storm events occurred just 2.5 days apart and in relatively adjacent areas. No other major past storms had occurred in such close time proximity. Both storms occurred where the prior 2.5-month rainfall was much below normal, creating much below normal soil moisture and droughtlike conditions for crops. All 36 previous major assessed rainstorms occurred after prolonged periods of average to much above average rainfall. This pre-storm difference in moisture conditions greatly affected the storms' impacts, and both August storms produced small economic losses compared to those of comparable prior storms. A much greater percentage of total storm rainfall infiltrated the soil, resulting in less runoff. High early peak flows in rivers where the heaviest rain fell quickly returned to normal levels within 10-22 days. Flooding, mostly near river courses, quickly dissipated, and flood losses were minimal. The major economic impact of the two August storms related to the added soil moisture and, in turn, the positive effects on soybean crops. Soybeans were in the pod-filling stage and shy of soil moisture when the storms occurred, and the rain-filled soils led to increased yields valued at $51 million in Illinois and Iowa. | | | | Date Created: | 9 24 2004 | | | | Agency ID: | DCS-2003-02 | | | | ISL ID: | 000000000904 Original UID: 999999994405 FIRST WORD: Two | |
| | | Title: | | | | | Volume/Number: | 2004 | | | | Issuing Agency: | | | | | Description: | Groundwater Conditions of the Principal Aquifers of Lee, Whiteside, Bureau, and Henry Counties, Illinois by Stephen L. Burch A large supply of groundwater occurs in a buried aquifer lying in the bedrock valley of the ancestral Mississippi River. This deposit, known as the Sankoty sand, supplies many irrigation wells and underlies more than 750 square miles (sq mi). A shallower and less extensive aquifer, the Tampico, occurs near the surface and underlies more than 480 sq mi. This study defines the regional groundwater flow patterns for these two aquifers in northwestern Illinois and reports the results of measuring groundwater levels in observation wells. The Tampico aquifer is separated from the underlying Sankoty aquifer by an intervening layer of clay or clays. Groundwater within the upper unit exists under unconfined conditions (that is, at atmospheric pressure). The saturated sands comprising the Tampico aquifer are typically 30 to 40 feet thick and are tapped by shallow wells or sandpoints. The Sankoty sand is 100 to 150 feet thick and is commonly used in irrigation wells in Illinois. Groundwater within this unit is pressurized and occurs under confined conditions. The pressure head in the aquifer declines from an elevation of about 670 feet near the town of Ohio to less than 570 feet near Albany along the Mississippi River. A steeper gradient occurs as groundwater flows toward a second outlet near Hennepin. As a result, groundwater elevations decline to levels below 450 feet where the aquifer discharges to the Illinois River. Pumpage during the summer months, largely from irrigation wells, causes groundwater levels in the Sankoty aquifer to decline 11 to 13 feet. The area of greatest drawdown extends from Tampico to Walnut, Illinois. Groundwater levels in the Tampico aquifer do not decline as much. A decline of 3 to 3.5 feet is common in the aquifer's water table. Irrigation wells annually withdraw an estimated 21,000 acre-feet of groundwater. Although the Sankoty aquifer is favored for irrigation, the actual distribution percentage for each aquifer is unknown. No significant, regional water-quality problems were detected in samples collected from either aquifer. The groundwater in both aquifers is of a calcium-bicarbonate type. The water is very hard, with an average value of 306 milligrams per liter (mg/L) in the Sankoty aquifer and 329 mg/L in the overlying Tampico aquifer. The quality of samples from the Sankoty aquifer was excellent, although they contained more iron and are more alkaline than samples from the Tampico aquifer. No discernible patterns were observed in the distribution of total dissolved solids (TDS) values for either aquifer. The average TDS value for water samples was 435 mg/L (Tampico aquifer) and 363 mg/L (Sankoty aquifer). Groundwater in the Tampico aquifer was usually of excellent quality, but it sometimes contained nitrates. | | | | Date Created: | 12 8 2004 | | | | Agency ID: | DCS-2004-01 | | | | ISL ID: | 000000000905 Original UID: 999999994435 FIRST WORD: Groundwater | |
| | | Title: | | | | | Volume/Number: | 2006 | | | | Issuing Agency: | | | | | Description: | This study evaluated the use of radar-derived daily precipitation values for estimating watershed precipitation in the Fox River watershed in northeastern Illinois and southeastern Wisconsin, and for the potential use in preparing real-time streamflow forecasts for the Fox River. Two types of radar-derived precipitation estimates based on data from the National Weather Service (NWS) WSR-88D radar network were evaluated. These estimates were developed using a 4-km grid resolution and computed using: 1) radar data alone and 2) composite or multi-sensor precipitation estimate based on radar data and real-time hourly precipitation gage observations. These gridded precipitation estimates were obtained from the National Center for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) and were compared to point measurements of daily precipitation from precipitation gages in the vicinity of the Fox River watershed for the period February 2002-September 2004. Multi-sensor precipitation estimates were found to be a considerable improvement over the gridded radar estimates during all seasons. In comparison to the daily gage data, however, the multi-sensor precipitation estimates were on average 25 percent lower throughout the year. Multi-sensor daily precipitation estimates from four storm periods were input to the Fox River Forecast Model to evaluate their potential application in hydrologic forecasting. Only one storm event produced flooding conditions on the Fox River in the period for which radar data was available. The remaining three storm events analyzed in this report produced only moderately high flows. Simulated flow forecasts using the multi-sensor precipitation values were less accurate than companion forecasts using observed data from precipitation gages. Based on the limited number and size of storm events available for simulation, this study was unable to conclude whether or not the multi-sensor precipitation values would be useful for forecasting floods. Until more comparisons can be conducted using data from future major flood events, flow forecasts for the Fox River should continue to be developed using near real-time data from precipitation gages. The present tendency of the multi-sensor precipitation data to underestimate rainfall amounts also makes their use generally inappropriate for longer term hydrologic simulations. | | | | Date Created: | 5 30 2006 | | | | Agency ID: | CR-2006-05 | | | | ISL ID: | 000000000906 Original UID: 999999994481 FIRST WORD: Evaluation | |
| | | Title: | | | | | Volume/Number: | 2005 | | | | Issuing Agency: | | | | | Description: | Weather during the 2004 growing season in the Midwest, along with improved plant genetics and farming practices, produced exceptionally high yields of all major crops with resulting record yields 10 to 25 percent above prior records, an exceptional increase. Record corn and soybean yields in Illinois and five other states had profound effects on crop prices, given the large foreign demand and the decreasing dollar value, resulting in a huge income increase for Midwestern farmers, $13- $14 billion. Crop experts, regional farmers, and crop-weather models failed to detect and predict the enormous magnitude of the final yields. This inability to assess the magnitude of the 2004 crop yields likely resulted from a lack of information about the presence and effect of the frequent days with clear skies in 2004. The number of clear days, 50 percent to 105 percent above average across the entire Midwest, also were accompanied by much below average temperatures and normal rainfall. Examination of Illinois climate conditions over the past 117 years reveals that when many clear days occurred, most summers were quite hot and dry. Only one prior summer (1927) had comparable conditions to those in 2004. Summer 2004 weather conditions also were unusual in other respects, including having characteristics that were beneficial for all crops. For example, prior record high yields occurred in 2003 for corn, in 1994 for soybeans, in 2001 for sorghum, and in 1990 for alfalfa. Seldom does the entire Midwest experience near uniform summer weather conditions, reflecting another climatologically-unique aspect of summer 2004 weather. Canadian high-pressure centers, resulting from the intrusion of 20 strong cold fronts, frequently dominated the atmospheric circulation across the central United States during the summer, limiting the movement of warm, moist air into the region and creating the season's high frequency of clear days. | | | | Date Created: | 2 24 2005 | | | | Agency ID: | DCS-2005-01 | | | | ISL ID: | 000000000908 Original UID: 999999994443 FIRST WORD: Unique | |
| | | Title: | | | | | Volume/Number: | 2005 | | | | Issuing Agency: | | | | | Description: | Deep bedrock aquifers in northeastern Illinois are an important source of drinking water, but there is evidence of temporal increases in concentrations of dissolved contents in the groundwater. Large groundwater withdrawals may be inducing groundwater movement from adjacent units or downdip areas containing high concentrations of dissolved solids. Archived data were used systematically to examine temporal trends in water-chemistry data for deep bedrock aquifers in northeastern Illinois. Most data suggest that concentrations of major ions and total dissolved solids (TDS) are not increasing in wells open to deep bedrock aquifers in most of northeastern Illinois. There are some locations where concentrations of some ions and TDS are increasing, including the major pumping centers at Joliet and Aurora, however. The increasing concentrations may be affected by aquifer geology. Increasing trends are more likely in wells open to deep Ordovician aquifers than in wells open only to deeper Cambrian aquifers or open to shallower Ordovician aquifers. There also appears to be some areal control on water-chemistry changes. Most of the positive trends occurred in the southern twothirds of the study area. Correlating withdrawal rates with water-chemistry data is problematic due to data limitations, but withdrawal rates do not appear to influence water chemistry of most wells for which data were available. | | | | Date Created: | 6 7 2005 | | | | Agency ID: | CR-2005-05 | | | | ISL ID: | 000000000909 Original UID: 999999994455 FIRST WORD: Temporal | |
| | | Title: | | | | | Volume/Number: | 2005 | | | | Issuing Agency: | | | | | Description: | Seventy-five shallow wells were sampled for water-quality analysis in Kane County in October 2003 to provide a 'snapshot' of groundwater quality in these shallow aquifers and also compare water quality from different parts and aquifers of Kane County. The quality of shallow groundwater in Kane County is generally good, especially in the western and central thirds of the county. However, the total dissolved solids (TDS) concentrations of samples from the eastern third of the county were significantly higher than elsewhere in the county. The ions of greatest concern are chloride and sulfate. Almost two-thirds of the samples from the eastern wells sampled had TDS, chloride, and/or sulfate concentrations above their drinking water standards. Road-salt runoff, vehicular exhaust, and industrial discharges are the most likely sources of these elevated solutes. Because the movement of groundwater is slow, the widespread presence of high TDS groundwater in the eastern urban corridor of Kane County suggests a fairly long history of shallow groundwater contamination. This project provides a baseline for shallow groundwater quality in Kane County. Repeating this study at 5-year intervals, sampling as many of the same wells as possible, would help to determine water-quality changes as Kane County undergoes land-use changes. More detailed studies at more frequent intervals for particularly sensitive areas or those with rapid changes in land use also may be helpful to water resource planners. | | | | Date Created: | 7 6 2005 | | | | Agency ID: | CR-2005-07 | | | | ISL ID: | 000000000910 Original UID: 999999994456 FIRST WORD: Shallow | |
| | | Title: | | | | | 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: | | | | | Volume/Number: | 1950 | | | | Issuing Agency: | | | | | Description: | This investigation is part of a state - wide investigation of groundwater resources being conducted by the State Water Survey Division. Records of more than 1400 wells have been tabulated. These wells penetrate one or more of three separate and distinct aquifers within the glacial drift . The three aquifers penetrated by wells in this are a have unrelated hydrostatic heads. The average daily pumpage from the middle deposits, the major producing aquifer considered in this report, was 7.917 million gallons. It was estimated that a total of 67,812 million gallons of water has been pumped from this aquifer. Water level pressure contour maps of the upper and middle waterbearing deposits show no similarity. Sufficient data are not available to permit the construction of a pressure contour map of the lower deposits. Values of the coefficients of transmissibility and storage have been determined. Values of the coefficient of transmissibility ranged from 10,000 to 400,000 and averaged about 40,000. Values of the coefficient of storage ranged from 0.00024 for short periods to 0.0065 for a 46 year period, the longest for which records are available. Using a coefficient of storage of 0.0065 it was determined that the amount of water removed from storage since pumping began was about 3,187 million gallons or about 5 percent of the total amount of groundwater withdrawn. The amount of inflow into the heavily pumped area at Champaign-Urbana is about equal to the 1948 rate of withdrawal indicating little if any recharge within the 630 contour of the cone of depression. The steep hydraulic gradient and low water levels near the area of heavy withdrawal, together with continued water level recession, suggests that the middle deposits at Champaign-Urbana have been developed to their maximum transmission rate and that some lessening of the rate of withdrawal would be necessary to maintain constant operating water levels. | | | | Date Created: | 1 9 2006 | | | | Agency ID: | RI-6 | | | | ISL ID: | 000000000917 Original UID: 999999993871 FIRST WORD: Groundwater | |
| | | Title: | | | | | Volume/Number: | 1960 | | | | Issuing Agency: | | | | | Description: | Most if not all of the so called artesian aquifers in Illinois are actually leaky artesian aquifers. If the permeability of the confining bed is very low, vertical leakage may be difficult to measure within the average period (8 to 24 hours) of pumping tests. However, since the cone of depression created by pumping a well tapping a leaky artesian aquifer continues to expand until discharge is balanced by the amount of induced leakage, it does not follow that vertical leakage is of small importance over extended periods of time. As the cone of depression grows in extent and depth, the area of leakage and the vertical hydraulic gradient become large. Accordingly then, with long periods of pumping, contribution by leakage through a confining bed may be appreciable even though the vertical permeability is very low. If a source is available to replenish continuously the confining bed, the cone of depression developed by a well pumping for long extended periods will be influenced by the vertical permeability of the confining bed in addition to the hydraulic properties and geohydrologic boundaries of the main aquifer. Any long-range forecast of well or aquifer yield must include the important effects of leakage through the confining bed. The vertical permeability of a confining bed often can be determined from the results of pumping tests as described in this publication. | | | | Date Created: | 9 24 2004 | | | | Agency ID: | RI-39 | | | | ISL ID: | 000000000918 Original UID: 999999993903 FIRST WORD: Leaky | |
| | | Title: | | | | | Volume/Number: | 1994 | | | | Issuing Agency: | | | | | Description: | This report on the 1993 flood on the Mississippi River in Illinois and on the lower reaches of the Illinois River was prepared by the Illinois State Water Survey with assistance from the Illinois Department of Transportation/Division of Water Resources and the Illinois Natural History Survey. The report begins with a brief description of the physical setting of the Upper Mississippi River System, including historical facts on climate, precipitation, hydrology, and floods. The 1993 flood is discussed with regard to precipitation, soil moisture, stages, flows, levee breaches, and discharge through levee breaches. Also discussed are impacts of the flood on social, economic, hydraulic and hydrologic, and environmental aspects of the river and its residents. Impacts on water quality, the environment, and public water supplies, including the beneficial and detrimental aspects of the flood, also are included. The lessons learned from this flood focus on the performance of the levees, governmental responses, the effects of flood fighting, change in stages due to levee breaches, flood modeling, and the lack of information dissemination to the public on the technical aspects of the flood. These lessons point out information gaps and the need for research in the areas of hydraulics and hydrology, meteorology, sediment transport and sedimentation, surface and groundwater interactions, water quality, and levees. The report presents a comprehensive summary of the 1993 flood as far as climate, hydrology, and hydraulics are concerned. | | | | Date Created: | 9 24 2004 | | | | Agency ID: | MP-151 | | | | ISL ID: | 000000000919 Original UID: 999999994109 FIRST WORD: The | |
| | | Title: | | | | | Volume/Number: | 1991 | | | | Issuing Agency: | | | | | Description: | The Illinois River is at a crossroads. All the events in its history, both natural and those accomplished through human intervention, are now poised to change the river in ways that may render it unrecognizable in our own lifetimes. This publication is intended to introduce you to the Illinois River and the issues that will shortly determine its very survival. | | | | Date Created: | 9 24 2004 | | | | Agency ID: | MP-128 | | | | ISL ID: | 000000000920 Original UID: 999999994138 FIRST WORD: The | |
| | | Title: | | | | | Volume/Number: | 2002 | | | | Issuing Agency: | | | | | Description: | 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. | | | | Date Created: | 9 24 2004 | | | | Agency ID: | IEM-2002-02 | | | | ISL ID: | 000000000921 Original UID: 999999994335 FIRST WORD: Illinois | |
| | | Title: | | | | | Volume/Number: | 1963 | | | | Issuing Agency: | | | | | Description: | Systematic measurements of ground-water levels in Illinois were started in the early 1930s in the Chicago region. Measurements were made in 1961 in 220 observation wells in 42 counties throughout the state. In areas remote from pumping centers, no long-term continuing trends of general rise or decline of the water table are discernible. A large part of central and southern Illinois experienced a severe drought beginning early in 1952 and ending in most areas during the spring of 1955. As a result, ground-water levels declined to record-low stages especially in the southern one-half of Illinois. However, large quantities of ground water taken from storage within the ground-water reservoir were replenished during succeeding years as precipitation increased. In heavily pumped areas, changes in water levels caused by pumping are superimposed on seasonal and secular fluctuations due to natural phenomena.In some instances large developments of ground water have caused pronounced and serious declines of water levels. There are many areas of ground-water development where serious water-level declines have not occurred. | | | | Date Created: | 9 24 2004 | | | | Agency ID: | RI-45 | | | | ISL ID: | 000000000928 Original UID: 999999993909 FIRST WORD: Ground | |
| | | Title: | | | | | Volume/Number: | 1963 | | | | Issuing Agency: | | | | | Description: | In northern Illinois large quantities of ground water are withdrawn from wells in shallow dolomite aquifers of Silurian and Ordovician age. The Niagaran and Alexandrian Series of Silurian age and the Galena-Platteville Dolomite of Ordovician age yield moderate to large quantities of ground water. Dolomite beds of the Maquoketa Formation of Ordovician age yield small quantities of water to wells. Silurian rocks are usually encountered at depths of between 10 and 300 feet in northeastern Illinois and between 30 and 880 feet in northwestern Illinois. These rocks exceed 450 feet in thickness at places and are often overlain by glacial drift. The average depth of shallow doIomite weIIs is about 140 feet, and most wells of recent design are finished 12 to 16 inches in diameter. About 1000 well-production tests were made, 1921-1961, on more than 800 shallow dolomite wells. Statistical analysis of specific-capacity data provided a basis for determining 1) the role of individual shallow dolomite aquifers or formations, uncased in wells, as contributors of water; 2) whether or not significant relationships exist between the yields of wells and geohydrologic controls; and 3) the effects of acid treatment on the productivities of wells. It is concluded that the Niagaran Series, Alexandrian Series, and Galena-Platteville Dolomite all have similar moderate to high yields and inconsistency of yields in areas throughout northern Illinois where these rocks directly underlie glacial drift. These Silurian and Ordovician rocks have similar low yields and inconsistency of yields in areas where these rocks are overlain by bedrock. On the other hand, the Maquoketa Formation and rocks of Devonian age yield very little water to wells. Most water-yielding openings occur in the upper one-third of the shallow dolomite aquifers. There is a good connection between glacial drift and the upper part of the shallow dolomite aquifers. Highest yielding wells are found in bedrock upland areas, in areas where the glacial drift immediately overlying the shallow dolomite aquifers is composed of sand and gravel, and in areas where reefs and associated strata are present. Most dolomite wells treated with acid show significant improvement in yield; largest improvements are recorded for rehabilitated wells. Yields are increased because water-yielding openings are enlarged and fine drill cuttings or incrustations are removed from openings. Probable ranges in yields of shallow dolomite wells in undeveloped areas are estimated from specific-capacity frequency graphs, aquifer thickness and area1 geology maps, and waterlevel data. | | | | Date Created: | 6 17 2005 | | | | Agency ID: | RI-46 | | | | ISL ID: | 000000000929 Original UID: 999999993910 FIRST WORD: Yields | |
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