What's Causing The Problem?
Because phosphorus and nitrogen pollution comes from both point sources such as
wastewater treatment plants and non-point sources such as runoff from lawns,
concrete and farm fields. It is clear that the rapidly increasing population
levels and changing land use patterns in the Fox River Valley, combined with the
lack of regulation of phosphorus pollution by the Illinois Environmental
Protection Agency, is a recipe for steadily degrading water quality in the Fox
River.
Rapid Development Leads To Increasing Wastewater Discharges. Population and land
use have obviously been changing rapidly in the communities that make up the Fox
River watershed. In only four years, between 1997 and 2001, the population of
Kendall, Kane, and McHenry counties has increased by 88,944, or 13.4%.As the
population grows, so does the volume of wastewater discharged into the Fox River.
In 1997, approximately 91.6 million gallons of treated wastewater were discharged
to the Fox, up 4.1 % from the 88 million gallons per day in 1990. It is now
estimated that over 50% of the water in the Fox River comes out of wastewater
treatment plants during the drier months of the year.
Illinois does not require plants discharging into rivers and streams to control
or even monitor the levels of pollutants such as phosphates and nitrates.
Recently a Raw Sewage Plant in Mc Henry is undergoing renovations updating its
machinery and waste controls. During this renovation waste water from the plant
has been found to leak out in large quantities. The sewage is laced with
nitrates, carbonates, and phosphates that are known to have harmful effects on
wildlife. Many people down river in Illinois are worried that their drinking
water as well as the environment around them might be affected.
Questions the public needs to know:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
How does this excess of sewage effect the nutrient cycles and systems in
the Fox River?
Will this disruption in nutrient cycles create problems for food webs and
chains? To what effect?
What factors does the balance of an ecosystem depend on?
If biodiversity is limited by this event what factors would change and what
effects would there be?
What other Human impacts and environmental impacts should we be aware of?
How could they too affect the Fox river?
INTRODUCTION
The Fox River is the backbone of the numerous communities along its banks.
Starting at its headwaters near Waukesha, Wisconsin, the river drains 938 square
miles in Wisconsin and 1720 square miles in Illinois before emptying into the
Illinois River at Ottawa, Illinois. In its run of 115 miles through northeastern
Illinois, the Fox River flows over 15 dams. Fishing, boating and other recreation
activities abound on the Fox River, and the river is the focus of historic
downtowns in McHenry, Kane, and Kendall counties. It provides 23.2 million
gallons per day of drinking water for residents in Elgin, Bartlett, Sleepy Hollow
and Aurora.
The reduction in pollution of the Fox River over the last three decades has been
a tremendous achievement. Thanks to the federal Clean Water Acts of 1972 and 1977
and investments in pollution control by industries and local governments, the Fox
River is significantly cleaner. These past successes give us confidence that we
can,in fact, confront the problems that still plague the Fox and make a
difference for the future.
However it is clear that the Fox River, and much of the progress that has been
won to date, is at risk due to the unprecedented and explosive growth occurring
in the Fox River Valley. In 1999, the national river conservation group American
Rivers placed the Fox River in on its Most Endangered Rivers list due to that
growth and due to poor enforcement of the Clean Water Act by the Illinois
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) at that time.
Soon thereafter, Illinois EPA placed three segments of the Fox River on their
list of Illinois' polluted waters (their 1998 list of waters in need of a TMDL a Total Maximum Daily Load cleanup plan). The river is currently receiving
increased attention from a wide array of river users. In a 2002 revision of the
TMDL list, the entire length of the Fox from the Wisconsin border to the mouth at
the Illinois River is listed as impaired by pollution.
The Valley of the Fox Group has been monitoring water quality in the Fox River
watershed since 1996. The purpose of this particular Water Sentinel project was
to gauge the level of nutrient pollution in the Fox River in 2001, and to project
what the long-term implications for nutrient pollution in the river might be if
additional pollution controls are not put into place. This report summarizes the
conclusions from monitoring by Sierra Club volunteers in Kane and Kendall
counties. It is offered in a spirit of cooperation with all the public and
private efforts to protect and improve the Fox River, and in hopes of building
public support for continued and expanded efforts.