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Section 319
NONPOINT SOURCE PROGRAM SUCCESS STORY
Jlhncts
of the Des
Best Management Practices Reduce Siltation from Urban Runoff
Urban runoff caused siltation of two segments c
Waterbodies ImprovGd .	. c	. D . A
Plaines River, The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) determined that the excess sediment prevented the segments from supporting their
designated uses for aquatic life and added them to the 2002 Clean Water Act (CWA) sec-
tion 303(d) liist of impaired waters. Implementing best management practices (BMPs) using
CWA section 319 funds enhanced water quality and helped reduce total suspended solids
(TSS) and sedimentation/siltation. In 2008 the Illinois EPA removed both segments from the
state's 2008 CWA section 303(d) list of impaired waters for TSS and sedimentation/siltation.
Problem
The Des Plaines River (Figure 1) flows 150 miles
(241 km) through southern Wisconsin and northern
iliinois, eventually meeting the Kankakee River west
of Channahon to form the Illinois River, a tributary of
the Mississippi River. The slow-moving Des Plaines
River flows primarily through Wisconsin marshland
before crossing into Iliinois, at which point, It flows
west through woodland forest preserve districts in
Lake County and Cook County (and through the city
of Des Plaines), northwest of Chicago. Numerous
small, fixed dams cross the river starting in central
Lake County and continuing through Cook County.
Eventually, the river turns to the southwest and
joins with the Sanitary and Ship Canal in Lockport
before flowing through the city of Joliet.
The Des Plaines River transforms from a prairie
creek to a suburban stream, to a large urbanized
river, and then finally to a major industrial waterway.
This success story focuses on two river segments
in Cook County, the 5.14-mile segment known as
G-30 and the 6.11-mile segment known as G-32
(Figure 2),
in Its 1990-1991 Illinois Water Quality Report, the
Illinois EPA first identified siltation, resulting from
urban runoff and hydrologic and habitat modifica-
tions, as a cause of impairment for segments G-30
and G-32. Suspended solids appeared as a cause
of impairment for the segments until Illinois EPA's
2000 Illinois Water Quality Report The 2002 Illinois
CWA section 303(d) list of impaired waters identi-
fies those segments of the river as not support-
ing their designated uses for aquatic life, in part	Figure 2. Segments G-30 and G-32 are in the lower Des
because of TSS and sedimentation/siltation. Plaines River watershed.
Figure 1. The Des Plaines River flows through
southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois.

COOK
KANE
DUPAGE

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Project Highlights
The Illinois EPA completed four nonpoint source
pollution control projects funded under CWA
section 319. The projects included implementing
numerous BMPs, such as stabilizing 2,920 feet of
shoreline and 7,576 feet of streambank; building
one urban stormwater wetland; restoring 5.78 acres
of wetlands; improving woodlands; and installing
two cisterns, two grade-stabilization structures, five
infiltration trenches, nearly an acre of porous pave-
ment, one rain garden and one rock outlet protec-
tion practice (an apron of heavy rock placed at the
outlet end of a culvert to reduce erosion).
Results
Water quality monitoring shows that TSS concentra-
tions are below the state standard of 116 milligrams
per liter (mg/L). As a result, the Illinois EPA removed
TSS and sedimentation/siltation from the 2008 list
of impairments for segments G-30 and G-32 of the
Des Plaines River (Figure 3).
Partners and Funding
Contributing a total of $968,555 of CWA section 319
funds, the Illinois EPA partnered with local stake-
holders to implement four nonpoint source pollution
control projects involving BMP implementation
in the Des Plaines River watershed. In addition to
BMPs, project partners completed several educa-
tion and information projects addressing nonpoint
source pollution. The Illinois EPA also partnered
with the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning
and the Lake County Stormwater Management
Commission to develop a 2008 watershed-based
plan for Indian Creek, a tributary to the Des Plaines
River.
Total Suspended Solids
70
Segment G-30
Segment G-32
60
50
20
10
0
Sampling Date
Figure 3. Data show that TSS levels in segments G-30 and G-32 are well below
the TSS water quality standard maximum of 116 mg/L.
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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Water
Washington, DC
EPA 841 -F-10-001L
August 2010
For additional information contact:
Scott Ristau
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
217-782-3362 • Scott.Ristau@illinois.gov

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