Agricultural Watershed Institute

The Agricultural Watershed Institute was formed in 2003 to develop innovative management practices for a key midwestern agricultural watershed, the Upper Sangamon in Illinois. The Upper Sangamon River watershed is located in Central Illinois and exhibits water quality problems typical of agricultural watersheds in the upper Midwest. In 1922, Lake Decatur, a prominent feature of the watershed, was formed to provide water for domestic use and processing of agricultural products. The Upper Sangamon River Watershed Committee, co-chaired by a farmer and a Decatur City Council member, will devote Targeted Watershed funds to three interrelated projects to improve water quality locally, regionally, and in the Gulf of Mexico by reducing unnecessary nutrient discharges from agricultural areas. One project will use GIS-based software and precision agriculture technology in on-farm trials to optimize nitrogen management. A second study will demonstrate drainage water management and subsurface bioreactors to reduce movement of nitrates through drainage tiles to surface waters. The third study will address economic and environmental benefits from soil testing and variable rate technology to improve phosphorus management. [image credit Illinois DNR]

City of Decatur

For over 15 years, the City of Decatur and the Macon County Soil & Water Conservation District have jointly cooperated on reducing soil erosion and improving the water quality on the 925 square miles of East Central Illinois land that drains into Lake Decatur. Corn and soybeans are grown on 85% of this drainage area (or watershed). Surface water from as far away as Gibson City in Ford County - 50 miles from the City of Decatur - eventually enters the lake. The task is enormous. However, thousands of tons of soil and other contaminants have been prevented from entering Lake Decatur through these efforts and those of the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Soil & Water Conservation Districts in the watershed.

Great Rivers Land Trust

The mission of Great Rivers Land Trust (GRLT) is to promote the preservation and improvement of natural resources principally in, but not limited to, the watershed of the Mississippi River for the benefit of the general public. These resources include: land and water resources, the plant and animal life thereon, and the area’s unique scenic, natural, and historic sites.

The GRLT operates experimental sediment managment projects on the Piasa Creek Watershed in Illinois. The Piasa Creek Watershed drains over 78,000 acres in Madison, Jersey, and Macoupin counties. The lower reaches of the stream were channelized years ago and are comprised of second growth bottomland deciduous forests. The upper reaches vacate water from the residential landscapes of Godfrey and the agricultural lands of Jersey and Macoupin counties. The watershed’s point of discharge into the Mississippi is at the Great River Road, about five miles north of Alton.

Illinois Department of Agriculture

Illinois Department of Natural Resources

The IDNR's mission is to manage, protect and sustain Illinois' natural and cultural resources; provide resource-compatible recreational opportunities and to promote natural resource-related issues for the public's safety and education.

The IDNR conservation division has spearheaded the development of the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program, the now-national USDA program that augments federal voluntary incentives-based efforts to restore key private lands to a state of more natural habitat.

Illinois EPA / USEPA Region 5

Illinois Groundwater Association

The IGA seeks to advance the knowledge of groundwater resources in Illinois and functions exclusively for charitable and educational purposes. Any person interested in the groundwater resources of Illinois is eligible to join the IGA. Our membership includes, but is not limited to, representatives of federal, state, county, and municipal organizations, consulting engineers or other firms, water well contractors, and industries concerned with groundwater resources.

Illinois Rivers Coordinating Council

The Illinois River Coordinating Council (IRCC) - chaired by Illinois Lt. Governor Pat Quinn - is a diverse group of citizens, grassroots and not-forprofit organizations, federal and state agencies, sportsmen, river enthusiasts and others who oversee planning and funding for reservation and restoration of the Illinois River Watershed.

Created in 1997, the IRCC has been involved in the commitment and expenditure of nearly $500 million for watershed improvements. The IRCC was instrumental in developing “Illinois Rivers 2020,” a comprehensive $2.5 billion federal/state initiative to restore the watershed. The IRCC is tackling head-on such problems as sediment accumulation, invasive aquatic species and destruction of wildlife habitats. IRCC citizen members in coordination with state
and federal agency members volunteer their time to meet quarterly in sites around the state. Additionally, four working groups focus on federal issues, state issues, community action and strategic planning.

Indiana Department of Environmental Management

Indiana Department of Natural Resources

Macon County Soil and Water Conservation District

The Macon County SWCD (MCSWCD) is located on the Richland Community College Campus. It has a state and nationally recognized watershed project through a partnership with the City of Decatur, a successful working relationship between the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), and strong relationships with local landowners. MCSWCD is a partner with the Agricultural Watershed Institute's efforts on the Upper Sangamon River watershed.

Mahomet Aquifer Consortium

The Mahomet Aquifer provides drinking water and irrigation water for most of central Illinois. The Mahomet Aquifer Consortium (MAC) was formed in November 1998 to look toward developing an approach to better study and understand the Mahomet aquifer. The aquifer is a valuable resource and those with an interest in the aquifer, either because they use ground water from the aquifer or because they are interested in utilizing the aquifer in the future, came together to discuss ways to study it in a comprehensive manner.

The MAC has members from water authorities, water companies, local, county, state, and federal government, professional groups, and the general public. The MAC currently has over 70 members and membership is open to any individual or organization with an interest in the Mahomet aquifer. The goal of the MAC is to study the aquifer so that, in the future, informed decisions can be made about meeting future water demand as populations increase and extreme weather events occur.

Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD)

The MWRD is the government agency created by the Illinois Legislature in 1889 to protect the water quality of Lake Michigan. The District is a separate government agency — neither a part of the City of Chicago nor Cook County government. A staff of 2,300 men and women work under the direction of nine elected commissioners to carry out this mission.

The District serves an equivalent population of 10.1 million people; 5.1 million real people, a commercial and industrial equivalent of 4.5 million people, and a combined sewer overflow equivalent of .5 million people. The District serves an area of 872 square miles which includes the City of Chicago and 124 suburban communities. The District's 547 miles of intercepting sewers (large pipes underground) range in size from 12 inches to 27 feet in diameter, and are fed by approximately 10,000 local sewer system connections.

Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission (NIPC)

The Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission is the official comprehensive planning agency for six counties -- Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will -- that form the greater Chicago metropolitan area. NIPC works with local governments and others to promote sensible growth. The Commission was formed by act of the Illinois General Assembly in 1957, with a mandate to provide the region with comprehensive planning and forecasts of population, employment, and other socio-economic indicators.

National Soil Erosion Laboratory (NSERL)

The National Soil Erosion Research Laboratory (NSERL) of the United States Department of Agriculture - Agricultural Research Service is the focal point for the U.S. Government's national research program in soil erosion by water. The lab is in the Midwest Area of the USDA-ARS. Major program thrusts of the NSERL include fundamental erosion process research, erosion control research, and delivery of improved erosion prediction technology. The NSERL is located on the campus of Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.

The Nature Conservancy

The Nature Conservancy's mission is to preserve the plants, animals and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive.

The Illinois River has attracted TNC's attention because of its history of extrordinary natural abundance, its importance to North American migratory birds, and its 1992 classification by the National Research Council as one of three major rivers in the USA that still retain enough natural characteristics to permit restoration.

TNC operates several preserves in the Illinois River Basin, including the Emiquon site. Emiquon is one of the largest floodplain restoration projects in the country outside the Florida Everglades. It is the premiere demonstration site for The Nature Conservancy's work on the Illinois River and within the Upper Mississippi River system and may ultimately help guide large floodplain river restoration efforts around the world.

Richland Community College

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

The Army Corps of Engineers is responsible for flood control, navigation, and wetlands protection on the waterways of the United States. Nowhere is the Corps more active than on the Upper Mississippi and Illinois Rivers. In addition to its normal activities, the Corps has recently joined with The Nature Conservancy to improve strategies for wetland and floodplain restoration on the Mississippi River. The USACE is helping to administer the Illinois Rivers 2020 program, the multibillion-dollar restoration plan for the Illinois River.

USDA Farm Service Agency

The Wetlands Initiative

The Wetlands Initiative is a nonprofit corporation dedicated to restoring the wetland resources of the Midwest to improve water quality, increase wildlife habitat and biodiversity, and reduce flood damages.

In its first decade, The Wetlands Initiative has become a regional leader in wetland restoration, both in on-the-ground projects and in forward-thinking research. In 2001, The Wetlands Initiative began restoration at the Hennepin & Hopper Lakes Project, 2,600 acres of former backwater lakes and wetlands pumped dry for 80 years to make way for corn and soybean fields. Today, the project has been heralded as one of the foremost wetland restoration sites in the Midwest region.