Scott Tomkins, Illinois EPA - Planning Section
Donald Roseboom, Illinois State Water Survey
Deanna Osmond, North Carolina State University Soil Science Dept.
Janet Young, NCSU Water Quality Group

Project Synopsis

The Waukegan River Section 319 National Monitoring Program project is located in northeastern Illinois, 35 miles north of Chicago. The length of the Waukegan River main channel and tributaries, which drain predominantly urban areas in Waukegan, Illinois, is approximately 12.5 miles. Discharge of the Waukegan River is into Lake Michigan, just east of the downtown area and only 6,000 feet from the City's fresh water intake.

Location of Waukegan River Section 319
National Monitoring Project

The project streams are located within two city parks (Powell and Washington). These parks are located within an older, highly urbanized area of the city. The 7,640-acre watershed of the Waukegan River is largely urbanized, with over 80% of the City of Waukegan lying within the watershed boundaries. The population of Waukegan is over 80,000. Because this is an older town, there are very few stormwater detention basins.

A high volume of runoff from impervious surfaces is degrading the urban streams within the watershed. The primary pollutant of concern is sediment. The steepest lands and, therefore, the most erosive are located in Washington and Powell Parks along the Lake Michigan bluffs. The severe bank erosion is increasing nonpoint source pollution loads into Lake Michigan, breaking small sewer lines that were buried in the stream and endangering other sewer lines. In addition to the physical destruction, aquatic habitat has been impaired due to lack of water depth in pools, limited cobble substrates, and limited stream aeration.

This project was initially funded as a Section 319 Project. Monitoring began in 1994, and the project was officially approved in 1996 by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) as a Section 319 National Monitoring Program project.

1994 - 1999

Project Water Quality Objective

The purpose of the project is to restore the streambanks for the Waukegan River in Washington and Powell Parks, which have become a source of urban nonpoint source pollution and a danger to the public. The detrimental affects of stormwater runoff will be reduced or mitigated.

Nonpoint Source Control Strategy

Biotechnical bank restoration (a combined vegetative and structural approach) has been selected to stabilize the Waukegan River streambanks. Bioengineering techniques for erosion control along eroding stream channels include vegetative stabilization, structural stabilization, and habitat structures with vegetation.

North Branch: Lunkers and a-jacks were installed in Powell Park, while lunkers with stone were installed in Washington Park. In the lower, middle, and upper zones of the streambanks where lunkers were installed, willows, dogwood, grasses, and wetland plants have been planted.

South Branch: In 1994, lunkers, a-jacks, stone, dogwood, willows, and grasses were used to stabilize a severe bank erosion site on the South Branch of the Waukegan River. Smaller bank erosion sites were stabilized with coir coconut fiber rolls, willows, and grasses. A series of six pools and riffles were created from granite boulders to act as low stone weirs. These were designed to reduce erosion of the streambed, enhance habitat, improve streambank stability, a nd increase water aeration.

Because the original bank stabilization efforts did not significantly improve stream depth, a series of six pool-and-riffle complexes were recreated by the construction of low stone weirs from granite boulders in this channelized reach.

Lunker Installation Design

Water Quality Monitoring Design

An upstream/downstream habitat monitoring design is being used to document water quality changes in the Waukegan River at the South Branch stations. With this design, urban water quality will affect both the control and the rehabilitated stations uniformly. Biological parameters (fish samples, macroinvertebrates, and habitat) are measured during the spring, summer, and fall cycles of the project period. Flow is measured continuously.

Findings

The biological sampling indicates that the number of fish species and abundance has more than doubled with the construction of lunkers and pool/riffle morphology. The index of Biologic Integrity rose sharply from degraded to a moderate resource rating.

Water Quality Data Management and Analysis

Water quality data are stored and maintained in the USEPA NonPoint Source Management System (NPSMS) databases.

Information, Education, and Publicity

One of the sites on the South Branch of the Waukegan River in Washington Park served as a training site for a s treambank restoration class held during the Second National Nonpoint Source Watershed Monitoring Workshop.

Senior personnel from the city's Public Works Department and the Waukegan District were taken through the restoration and stabilization process before and during construction. These individuals then helped with the next training during the above-mentioned workshop.

An urban stream restoration manual and video of the biotechnical streambank restoration activities has been developed to highlight the biotechnical techniques that were used in the restoration.

A videotape production and color brochure were developed which describe the biotechnical stream stabilization techniques, the monitoring program, and the physical and biological enhancements achieved.

For Further Information

Line, D.E., S.W. Coffey, D.L. Osmond. 1997. WATERSHEDSS Grass-AGNPS Model Tool, Trans. of the ASAE 40(4):971-975.

Because much of the contamination of surface water is due to nonpoint source pollution, protecting or restoring the designated use of a water resource often requires the reduction of nonpoint source pollutant loading. Developing the most effective nonpoint source control strategy for a watershed requires an understanding of the nature of the pollutants and the collection and evaluation of a significant amount of pertinent information. WATERSHEDSS (WATER, Soil, and Hydro-Environmental Decision Support System) was designed by Osmond et al. (1996) to aid users in learning about sources, transport, and control of nonpoint source pollutants as well as in identifying the types of data and tools needed to develop an effective control strategy.

The modeling tool in WATERSHEDSS uses the Agricultural Nonpoint Source Pollution Model (AGNPS) developed by Young et al. (1994). In addition to automatically computing input data from basic soils, topography, and land use maps, this modeling tool adds the capability to input point source, channel characteristic, and pesticide application data for user-selected areas in the watershed. The tool was used to simulate runoff and sediment, nitrogen, and phosphorus loads for a small gaged watershed located in North Carolina. Output of the tool was compared to observed runoff and pollutant loads for 11 storms. Statistical comparisons between observed and model-simulated loads at two monitoring stations showed no significant difference between observed and predicted runoff volumes and nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment loads, indicating that the modeling tool provides reasonable estimates of pollutant loads from storm events.

United States Department of Agriculture - Natural Resources Conservation Service

America's Private Land, A Geography of Hope tells the story of America's private, non-urban land. Private land is America's working land. It produces food and fiber and much, much more: it also produces clean water, clean air, wildlife habitat, healthy and productive soil, and scenic landscapes. But this story is more than a national report card on the state of our Nation's natural resources; it will help the reader learn to think about land (soil, water, air, plants, and animals) in a different way.

A Geography of Hope is a call to action, a call to renew our national commitment to America's private land and private landowners. The Nation will never achieve its goals for conservation and environmental quality if farmers and ranchers and all other private landowners are not engaged in a cooperative effort to use the land according to its capabilities. You'll get the facts and figures on natural resources from A Geography of Hope, all woven into a framework of land stewardship and a vision for natural resource management in the 21st century.

Illinois EPA. 1997. Nonpoint Source Pollution Information/Education Programs: Proceedings of a National Conference. Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. EPA Region 5, Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission, Chicago, IL.

Many implementation projects that confront nonpoint source pollution include an information/education component. Some of these projects are entirely information/education in nature. The challenge of managing complex problems like nonpoint source pollution necessitates innovative and creative approaches. The message must be brought before - and understood by - the citizenry. Many people have never been exposed to such jargon as "nonpoint source pollution." But when these people come to understand the important role they can play in reducing pollution through relatively simple changes in their everyday actions and behaviors, real progress is being made.

In response to this need for effective, innovative solutions to nonpoint source pollution, the National Conference on Nonpoint Source Pollution Information/Education Programs provided an opportunity to learn and share ideas on nonpoint source information/education strategies on a national level. The conference explored practical, state-of-the art examples of successful outreach programs through multimedia sessions.

The conference proceedings are available by contacting the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, Division of Water Pollution Control - Planning Section, P.O. Box 19276, Springfield, IL 62794-9276, Tel: 217-782-3362, Fax: 217-785-1225.

U.S. EPA. 1997. Catalog of Federal Funding Sources for Watershed Protection. U.S. EPA Office of Water, EPA-841-B-97-008.

EPA's Office of Water has recently published the updated Catalog of Federal Funding Sources for Watershed Protection. The purpose of the catalog is to provide information to State/local water resource professionals and watershed groups on Federal funding programs that might be available to fund different aspects of watershed protection and local-level watershed projects. The catalog contains one-page fact sheets for each of the 52 funding sources (grants and loans) that indicate to the reader what type of activities are funded and who is eligible for funding. Contacts and Internet sites are also provided for each of the programs so the reader can obtain further information. It also contains citations for other publications and websites on funding.

U.S. EPA. 1997. Techniques for Tracking, Evaluating, and Reporting the Implementation of Nonpoint Source Control Measures: I. Agriculture. U.S. EPA Office of Water, EPA-841-B-97-010.

U.S. EPA. 1997. Techniques for Tracking, Evaluating, and Reporting the Implementation of Nonpoint Source Control Measures: II. Forestry. U.S. EPA Office of Water, EPA-841-B-97-009.

Nonpoint source pollution is the largest cause of water quality impairment in the United States (USEPA, 1995). Congress passed the Coastal Zone Act Reauthorization Amendments of 1990 (CZARA) to help address nonpoint source pollution in coastal waters. CZARA provides that each state with an approved coastal zone management program develop and submit to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration a Coastal Nonpoint Pollution Control Program.

The focus of these two guides is on the design of monitoring programs to assess agricultural and f orestry management measures and best management practice (BMP) implementation, with particular emphasis on statistical considerations. They are intended to assist state, regional, and local environmental professionals in tracking the implementation of BMPs used to control nonpoint source pollution generated by agricultural and forestry practices. Information is provided on methods for selecting evaluation sites, sample size estimation, sampling, and result evaluation and presentation. Guidance for sampling representative farms and forestry operations to yield summary statistics at a fraction of the cost of a comprehensive inventory is provided.

These documents provide information to help program managers gather statistically valid information to assess implementation of BMPs on a more general (e.g., statewide) basis.

U.S. EPA. 1997. Monitoring Guidance for Determining the Effectiveness of Nonpoint Source Controls. U.S. EPA Office of Water, EPA-841-B-96-004.

The diffuse nature of nonpoint sources (e.g., agriculture, forestry, urban areas) and the variety of pollutants generated by them create a challenge for their effective control. Although progress has been made in the protection and enhancement of water quality, much work is still needed to identify nonpoint source management strategies that are both effective and economically achievable under a wide range of conditions. Monitoring will play an important role in this effort.

This nonpoint source monitoring and evaluation guide is written for use by both those who monitor and those who evaluate and fund monitoring proposals. For example, the federal, State, and Tribal agencies that support monitoring activities might use this guide to assess the technical merits of proposed monitoring and evaluation plans. These same agencies, university personnel, and others who carry out the monitoring and evaluation might use this guide to formulate their plans.

This guidance addresses the design of water quality monitoring programs to assess both impacts from nonpoint source pollution and effectiveness of control practices and management measures. There are diverse opinions regarding the most effective way to design a monitoring program. Since each situation is different and may need a unique monitoring approach, this guidance presents the theory and information needed to design monitoring programs tailored to particular situations.

U.S. EPA. 1997. Watershed Protection: Clean Lakes Case Study - Use of Aquatic Weevils to Control a Nuisance Weed in Lake Bomoseen, Vermont. U.S. EPA Office of Water, EPA-841-F-97-002, Number 3.

This new Clean Lakes case study highlights the use of aquatic weevils as a biological control for an aquatic weed, Eurasian watermilfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum), in Lake Bomoseen, Vermont. The initial results in Lake Bomoseen, and in several other lakes, indicate that this technique shows promise for controlling the growth of Eurasian watermilfoil and could potentially be used in other lakes with similar problems. This case study is one in a series of lakes case studies which highlight different lake management techniques. It was developed with assistance from Dr. Robert Creed at Appalachian State University and Holly Crosson of the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation, and received extensive technical peer review.

Laura comes with a broad-based technical, scientific, and regulatory background. She served as an environmental engineering and project manager with EPA-Region II for eight years before returning to graduate school at North Carolina State University, where she received her Master of Science in Forestry degree in 1996. Welcome, Laura!

Purpose: To bring together nonpoint source pollution specialists to share information on effective monitoring techniques, statistical analysis of watershed data, and the overall effectiveness of BMPs on improving water quality. The progress of the Section 319 National Monitoring Program (NMP) projects will be highlighted, as will other innovative water quality projects and monitoring techniques.

The program will offer three days of indoor workshop sessions/talks and a day-long field trip. Concurrent trips will be offered: one to northeast Iowa (Clayton County) to visit the Sny Magill Creek and Big Spring projects, and a second trip to central Iowa to see the Walnut Creek National Wildlife Refuge in Jasper County and the Bear Creek project in Story County. (Walnut Creek and Sny Magill Creek are two of the U.S. EPA's Section 319 NMP projects.)

Sponsored by: U.S. EPA Region 5, Headquarters Watershed Branch, Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission

A diverse assortment of resource management tools - retrofits - are being developed for water resource managers who are faced with the challenge of reducing nonpoint source impacts within already-developed urban environments. However, their implementation has been hampered by a lack of technology transfer opportunities. This national conference is designed to facilitate the educational process and to transfer this much-needed information to state and local water resource practitioners.

The conference program brings together a wide array of progressive scientists and researchers, along with managers of successful local projects from across the country. Featured session topics include: retrofit opportunity identification, modeling and monitoring approaches for retrofit applications, conservation design strategies, brownfields/revitalization issues, riparian reforestation, and public education/involvement programs.

A special pre-conference workshop, New Opportunities for Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) Abatement, will be offered on Monday, February 9. The workshop will focus on what communities are learning as they implement CSO abatement programs, along with an analysis of the programs' cost-effectiveness and impacts on water quality. A featured project will be the Rouge River National Wet-Weather Demonstration Program.