Sources of Water for Communities in Northeastern Illinois

published or submitted for publicationis peer reviewedOpe

ECONOMIC IMPACTS RESULTING FROM CO-FIRING BIOMASS FEEDSTOCKS IN SOUTHEASTERN UNITED STATES COAL-FIRED PLANTS

Economic impacts of using biomass in Southeast United States coal-fired plants are estimated using a county-level biomass database; ORCED, a dynamic electricity distribution model that estimates feedstock value; ORIBAS, a GIS model that estimates feedstock transportation costs; and IMPLAN, an input-output model that determines the impacts of co-firing on economic activity.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Analysis of Groundwater Level Changes, Surface Water Conditions, and Water Use in the Greater Barrington Region, 2014–2019

The Barrington area is dependent on shallow groundwater resources for water supply and is unusual in that much of the water demand required by its residents is met by private wells as opposed to centralized community water systems. The Barrington Area Council of Governments (BACOG) supports a groundwater and surface water monitoring program consisting of continuous and periodic water level measurements in local streams and in the shallow sand and gravel aquifer system (Henry Formation). BACOG also leads a yearly mass measurement of water levels at municipal wells within and surrounding the BACOG study area. We developed potentiometric surfaces (maps that represent aquifer water level elevations) for the sand and gravel aquifer system for the years 2014–2019 using geographic information system (GIS) interpolation tools, and from those developed potentiometric change maps. We also analyzed trends in baseflow conditions using United States Geological Survey (USGS) streamgage data and water use from the sand and gravel and shallow bedrock aquifers using Illinois Water Inventory Program (IWIP) data. The potentiometric surfaces show a consistent groundwater high in the western half of the BACOG study area due to the Henry Formation being at or near the land surface. Resultsfrom this study indicate that water levels in the sand and gravel aquifer within the BACOG study area have generally increased over the five-year study period. Water levels increased on average: 1) by around 5 feet at the continuously monitored USGS sites, 2) by 5.8 feet at the Illinois State Geological Survey monitoring wells, and 3) by over 5 feet at municipal wells. Baseflow alsotrended upward at the Fox River and Poplar Creek streamgaging sites. Regional municipal water use from the sand and gravel aquifer decreased from 16 million gallons per day in 2005 to around 13 million gallons per day in 2018. The increase in water levels may be due to a combination of less municipal water use, above average precipitation, and improved household water use efficiency. Because of the projected increases in precipitation intensity, flooding events, and climate variability, we recommend the continuation of BACOG’s groundwater monitoring program to understand long-term (decadal) trends in groundwater levels to support long-term regional planning of water supplies. Because of the predominance of private wells in the region and that a significant portion of the aquifer is susceptible to contamination, we also recommend that groundwater quality sampling be a focus of future BACOG studies.published or submitted for publicationis peer reviewedOpe

Groundwater Flow Models of Illinois: Data, Processes, Model Performance, and Key Results

The Illinois State Water Survey (ISWS) has a long history of developing groundwater flow models to simulate water supply and groundwater contamination issues in the state of Illinois. However, past local- and regional-scale models developed by the ISWS have traditionally been project based; thus models are archived when the project is completed and may not be updated for many years. This report presents the first version of the Evolving Network of Illinois Groundwater Monitoring and Modeling Analyses (ENIGMMA), which is the framework of data, procedures, protocols, and scripts that facilitate the development of a single, continuously updated groundwater flow model and other outputs (hydrographs, maps, animations of groundwater potentiometric surfaces). This report focuses on five aspects of ENIGMMA: 1. The archived models and high-resolution datasets that serve as inputs to ENIGMMA 2. The procedures for developing model-ready datasets from these inputs 3. The Illinois Groundwater Flow Model (IGWFM), which serves as the single model that will be continuously updated by ENIGMMA 4. The ISWS Calibration Toolbox, used to facilitate a transient calibration of the IGWFM 5. Animations of groundwater potentiometric surfaces using head-specified models This report is a living document that will be updated periodically. Future updates to this report will focus on additional aspects of ENIGMMA, including the automated development of model-ready inputs and display of model outputs. Updates to this report will also chronicle any additional geologic data added to ENIGMMA, and subsequently, to the Illinois Groundwater Flow Model. Updates will also highlight both local- and regional-scale advancements made with the model, including any key results from these models. The current version of the IGWFM combines and expands on two existing groundwater flow models: 1) the Northeastern Illinois Cambrian-Ordovician Sandstone Aquifer model and 2) the East-Central Illinois Mahomet Aquifer model. In addition, the model incorporates new geologic information developed by the Illinois State Geological Survey in the Middle Illinois Water Supply Planning region. The current model domain covers large portions of Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, and Michigan. This large spatial extent is necessary to capture the far-reaching regional head declines in the deep Cambrian-Ordovician sandstone aquifer system, which can extend beyond state boundaries. Depicting some shallow, unconsolidated aquifers also requires a simultaneous simulation of the deep sandstone to account for flow exchange between units. This is because the low-permeable stratigraphic units (aquitards) overlying the sandstone aquifers are absent over large areas of northern Illinois or are locally punctured by wells with long, open intervals. To capture these complex flow pathways, the three-dimensional IGWFM explicitly simulates all geologic materials from the land surface to the impermeable Pre-Cambrian crystalline bedrock. The IGWFM does not currently include a groundwater flow simulation of the southern portion of the state where the deep basin sandstones are highly saline and not used for water supply. Incorporating the shallow aquifers in the southern portion of the state into the IGWFM is a long-term goal. The primary datasets currently incorporated into IGWFM include surface water elevations, annual groundwater withdrawals, well information such as open intervals, geologic 2 surfaces, measured water levels, and aquifer properties inferred from previous modeling studies. These datasets are input at their best available spatial and temporal resolutions, allowing for the development of refined local-scale models. Such local-scale models are essential for simulating groundwater-surface water interactions, well interference, and contaminant transport. Major local-scale models already exist for the Mahomet Aquifer, Kane County, and McHenry County. The IGWFM can address a number of water supply planning questions, particularly the impacts of historic, modern, and future high-capacity groundwater withdrawals on heads and groundwater discharging to surface waters. In addition, where detailed geologic information of the shallow aquifers is available, the IGWFM can also simulate the subsurface migration of point (e.g., volatile organic compounds) and nonpoint (e.g., chloride and nitrate) contaminants.published or submitted for publicationis peer reviewedOpe

Groundwater Depletion in Chicago's Southwestern Suburbs

Sandstone aquifers in Illinois have been important sources of water for municipalities and industries since the mid-1800s, and remain important in Will, Kendall, Kane, and McHenry Counties (Figure 1a). Long-term withdrawals have resulted in declining groundwater levels (also known as heads), with the greatest declines of over 900 feet in Will County, locally exceeding 1,100 feet when wells are pumping.published or submitted for publicationis peer reviewedOpe

Groundwater Availability in Northeastern Illinois from Deep Sandstone Aquifers

published or submitted for publicationis peer reviewedOpe

Changing Groundwater Levels in the Cambrian-Ordovician Sandstone Aquifers of Northern Illinois, 1980-2014

published or submitted for publicationis peer reviewedOpe

The Distribution of Water Use in Illinois

The Distribution of Water Use in Illinois - More than 1,300 communities in Illinois rely on different sources of water for municipal, industrial, and residential use. Sources of water throughout the state include Lake Michigan, inland surface waters such as rivers and reservoirs, groundwater, or a coMBination of sources. Communities may also purchase water from other communities or from public water distributors, which include private companies, water commissions, water districts, or water agencies. This map depicts the complexity of where communities get their water and the network of water purchases throughout the state for the year 2012. Municipalities and public water distributors are colored-coded according to the source of water they use. The purchase network depicts transactions between communities or public water distributors with arrows going from seller to purchaser. Some communities extract water from their own wells or intakes (withdrawn water), or buy water from another community or public water distributor (purchased water), or may have a combination of withdrawn and purchased water. In 2012, over 1,510 million gallons per day (mgd) were withdrawn for public consumption. Data for this map were gathered by the Illinois Water Inventory Program, which has tracked water use at high-capacity community wells and intakes (over 70 gallons per minute) throughout the state since 1979. This map is available online as a 36" x 54" PDF file (7.2MB).Ope

Prostate Intrafraction Translation Margins for Real-Time Monitoring and Correction Strategies

The purpose of this work is to determine appropriate radiation therapy beam margins to account for intrafraction prostate translations for use with real-time electromagnetic position monitoring and correction strategies. Motion was measured continuously in 35 patients over 1157 fractions at 5 institutions. This data was studied using van Herk's formula of (αΣ + γσ') for situations ranging from no electromagnetic guidance to automated real-time corrections. Without electromagnetic guidance, margins of over 10 mm are necessary to ensure 95% dosimetric coverage while automated electromagnetic guidance allows the margins necessary for intrafraction translations to be reduced to submillimeter levels. Factors such as prostate deformation and rotation, which are not included in this analysis, will become the dominant concerns as margins are reduced. Continuous electromagnetic monitoring and automated correction have the potential to reduce prostate margins to 2-3 mm, while ensuring that a higher percentage of patients (99% versus 90%) receive a greater percentage (99% versus 95%) of the prescription dose

Water Supply Planning: Middle Illinois Assessment of Water Resources for Water Supply-Final Report

Illinois Department of Natural Resourcespublished or submitted for publicationis peer reviewedOpe