ESCI 109W Muddy Waters
Introduction to Group Projects
In the Muddy Waters Final Project, you will work with a team to investigate one of the major
water systems of Chicago. The project will focus on the watershed of the North Branch of the
Chicago River, and the ways in which the hydrologic cycle works in this urban area.
One part of the project will involve researching the hydrologic cycle in Chicago. Thinking of
processes such as precipitation, evaporation, transpiration, infiltration, recharge, runoff,
streamflow, and groundwater flow, how does water move into, through, and out of the Chicago
area?
Your research also will investigate the ways these processes are changed by what goes on in a
big city, and investigating the different ways urbanization affects the various processes involved
in the hydrologic cycle. Each group will identify specific aspects of urbanization involved in the
hydrologic cycle, so that we can distinguish between a “natural” hydrologic cycle that would
occur in an undisturbed area, and the “urban” hydrologic cycle that exists in a city like Chicago.
Another part of the project will be for you and your team to figure out a water budget for the
North Branch watershed. To get a start on this, begin to think about ways that water enters the
watershed, and ways that water leaves the watershed (both natural and human-caused ways!)
Based on the work that we’ve already done looking at water quality parameters, your team will
be assigned two specific parameters from the list below. You will research and describe how
the concentration of those parameters is impacted by the changes caused to the hydrologic
cycle by the urban environment.
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Sulfate
Chloride
Nitrate
Fluoride
Phosphate
Conductivity
Dissolved Oxygen
pH
As a final product, each team will present their results of their work to the class on December
10th. Presentations can be either poster presentations or Powerpoint presentations. More
details on this are coming soon!