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U.S. Department of Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

November 2001

District Web Site: http://il.water.usgs.gov/ Compiled by D.M. Ayers

MESSAGE FROM ROBERT R. HOLMES, JR., ILLINOIS DISTRICT CHIEF

A LOOK AT MISSISSIPPI RIVER FLOODING — 1993 AND 2001: Once again, flooding 

along the Upper Mississippi River caused quite a bit of problems this past year. As compared to the 1993 flood, the 2001 flood was not as widespread and far-reaching; however, it 

did exceed the 1993 flood in several reaches of the Upper Mississippi River above the Quad 

Cities area of Illinois (Rock Island, Davenport, Moline, and Bettendorf). The 2001 flood 

resulted from 2 to 4 inches of rain falling on a very large and rapidly melting snowpack (3 

to 5 inches of equivalent water) in the upper Midwest. The 1993 flood occurred later in the 

year (June-August) as compared to 2001 (April-May) and resulted from a large amount of 

rain (as much as 40 inches) over the 7-month period from January to July 1993. This rainfall was spread out over much of the Missouri and Upper Mississippi Basins (above St. 

Louis). The 2001 flood exceeded the 1993 flood in the reaches above the Quad Cities, but 

was smaller in comparison to 1993 in the reach below the Quad Cities. The relative contribution of floodwater by the major tributaries in Iowa, Illinois, and Missouri (especially the 

Missouri River) was much smaller in 2001 than 1993; thus, the lesser flood elevations and 

flows below the Quad Cities. The table at right gives the peak stage and discharges for various locations along the Upper Mississippi River where the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) 

maintains streamflow gages.

TECHNOLOGY CHANGES — 1993 AND 2001: In 1993, conventional AA Price current 

meter measurements of streamflow, which has been the standard USGS method since the 

beginning of the 20th century, is still the predominant conventional method used on the 

Mississippi River. The acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) was used during the 1993 

flood to make measurements at several locations between St. Louis and Thebes, however, it 

was in the mode of “how accurate is this new gadget”. In 2001, whereas conventional AA 

Price measurements still are used in some locales on the Mississippi, the ADCP has come 

into its own as the preferred USGS method of measuring streamflow. ADCP measurements 

are quicker (1/2 to 1 hour as compared to as much as 4 hours for a conventional measurement), do not require a bridge to measure from, and provide more accurate data in the form 

of 3-dimensional velocities. This allows the flexibility to measure all locations where data 

are needed and USGS does not have a streamflow gage. For example, during the 2001 

flood, the Rock Island District Corps of Engineers (Corps) asked the USGS for measurements on the Mississippi at locations other than where we had gages, including adjacent to 

downtown Davenport. The use of ADCPs enabled a quick and much more cost effective 

manner to collect these much needed data to assist the Corps in their flood fight efforts. Of 

course, the final and maybe most drastic change in technology concerning the Internet. In 

1993, use of the Internet by private citizens to obtain information on the flooding virtually 

was non-existent, during the 2001 flood, the National Weather Service, Danvenport office, 

reported over 1-million hits during April and May 2001 on their Web site.

Water Resources Update

Illinois District Newsletter

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Message from the District Chief . . . . .1

Data Collection and Analysis to Aid in 

Design of the Chicago Underflow 

Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

Employee Spotlight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

Metro East Sediment and Geomorphic 

Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

Cooperator Spotlight . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Adventures in Collecting Aquatic Macroinvertebrates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

From the Mailbag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

Outreach Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

Illinois District Publications . . . . . . . .8 Table 1: 1993 and 2001 Flood Peaks [Rvr, River; ft3/s, cubic feet per second] 1993 Flood 2001 Flood Mississippi Rvr Station Date of Peak Gage Height Discharge (ft3/s) Date of Peak Gage Height Discharge (ft3/s) Clinton 07/05/93 22.98 245,000 04/24/01 23.60 260,000 05/09/01 22.54 241,000 Keokuk 07/10/93 27.58 435,000 04/26/01 22.94 294,000 St. Louis 08/01/01 49.47 1,030,000 06/10/01 34.64 559,000
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 BACKGROUND

Since 1995, the USGS has been involved in an on-going study with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Chicago District (Corps), and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRDGC), to aid in the design of the 

Chicago Underflow Plan (CUP). The CUP also is referred to as the Deep Tunnel Project or the Tunnel and Reservoir Plan 

(TARP) (fig.1).

During periods of heavy rainfall in the greater Chicago area, MWRDGC sewage-treatment plants often are overwhelmed by the incoming combined raw sewage and storm water. Historically, when the capacity of the plants is exceeded, 

this combined sewer overflow (CSO) has been released, untreated, directly into streams. The goal of the CUP is to construct 

a series of dropshafts from the sewage-treatment plants connected to a deep tunnel system (fig. 2) under the City of Chicago 

that will route the CSO to storage reservoirs where it can be stored until after the storm when it can be treated and released.

The concerns are that the chemical and oxygen demand of the CSO could consume all of the oxygen (anoxic) in the CSO 

(resulting in serious odor and treatment problems) during storage in the reservoirs. To address these problems, information 

was needed as to the quantity and quality of the CSO; and aeration and/or a mixing system is needed in the reservoirs to 

prevent the CSO from becoming anoxic. A three-dimensional hydrodynamic model, PAR3D, has been developed by the 

Corps to aid in the design of the aeration and/or mixing system for the reservoirs.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS TO AID IN DESIGN OF THE CHICAGO UNDERFLOW PLAN

BY

GARY P. JOHNSON, HYDROLOGIST

Figure 2. The Deep Tunnel under greater Chicago.

Figure 1. Tunnel and Reservoir Plan (TARP) for greater Chicago.
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USGS EFFORTS

Combined Sewer Overflow Monitoring. The USGS installed acoustic velocity meters and water depth sensors in several 

sewer pipes to quantify flow through the pipes. These flow data were coupled with water-quality samples taken by 

MWRDGC to determine the quantity and quality of CSO in the sewer pipes. Results of the analyses then were used by the 

Corps in computer flow-routing models to determine the quantity and quality of CSO entering the reservoirs during periods 

of heavy rainfall. Results of the analyses and the data collected by the USGS and MWRDGC are planned to be made available in a report scheduled to be printed by early 2002 titled, Monitoring and Analysis of Combined Sewer Overflow, Riverside and Evanston, Illinois, 1997-1999, by Andrew M. Waite, Nancy J. Nornewer, and Gary P. Johnson.

Pilot-Scale Tank Tests and Field-Scale Reservoir Tests. The USGS collected and analyzed water-velocity and water-quality 

data in a 10-meter deep tank and a 13-meter deep reservoir to describe the mixing patterns induced by the operation of aerators, a submersible mixer, and a surface mixer. These data were collected to aid in the verification and calibration of 

PAR3D. Bubble-plume characteristics and effects during the tests were documented and compared with characteristics simulated by other computer models. Finally, on the basis of temporal and spatial dissolved oxygen measurements in the reservoir, the volumetric quantity of oxygen before and after the operation of the surface mixer was calculated. A detailed 

description of the tests and the data collected are available in two reports, One-Dimensional Simulation of Stratification 

and Dissolved Oxygen in McCook Reservoir, Illinois, WRIR 00-4258, by Dale M. Robertson, and Methodology, Data 

Collection, and Data Analysis for Determination of Water-Mixing Patterns Induced by Aerators and Mixers, WRIR 00-

4101, by Gary P. Johnson and others.

Future Tests. The USGS currently is working with the University of Illinois to conduct pilot-scale tests during summer 

2001 and 2002 in another tank, this time filled with different blends of combined sewer overflow water. Finally, the USGS 

is planning deep-water field scale tests in a 100-meter deep reservoir during summer 2002. These tests should provide further insight about the effects of aeration and mixing in deep water.

EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT

LES DIPPEL

ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER

Les Dippel began his career in the U.S. Geological Survey at the Illinois District Office in Urbana in 1993 as 

an Accounting Technician. He became the Administrative Officer in 1999. Les received a Bachelor of Science 

degree in Business Finance from Eastern Illinois University in 1975. He started his career shortly afterward as a 

Technical Training Instructor in the 3360th Training Group, Chanute Air Force Base, in Rantoul, Illinois. Les 

taught basic electronics to technicians learning navigation systems, flight simulators, missile systems, and weather 

equipment. He received Master Instructor status in 1980 and in 1981 oversaw the training of 18 instructors training over 2,500 students per year. In 1991, he was promoted to Resource Manager. His duties included oversight of 

a $1.5 million budget and management of over $45 million of equipment used in the fire school, liquid refueling, 

life support, and vehicle maintenance at the Air Force Base. In 1993, Les was awarded the Exemplary Civilian 

Service Award for his over 18 years of service to the Air Force.

As an Administrative Officer for the Illinois District, Les’ duties include program planning, development, and 

execution; human resources planning and development, performance planning and employee relations; financial 

management and administrative services; and general office communications. Les supervises three persons in the 

Administrative Unit. Les is a key member of District Management and is the primary advisor to the District Chief 

on all administrative management matters.

Les’ wife, Lisa, is the principal at St. John’s Lutheran School in Buckley, Illinois. Les and Lisa have one 

daughter, Alexis, who is 8 years old. Les enjoys tail gaiting at various University of Illinois athletic events and at 

Chicago White Sox games. He also enjoys coaching t-ball, gardening, and golf.
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Judys Branch, a small basin (8.33 

square miles) near Glen Carbon, 

southwestern Illinois, has been 

selected as a pilot site to analyze sediment delivery and stability of streams 

draining the bluff-line hills of the 

American Bottoms in the Metro East 

area of Illinois (fig. 1). In the 1800s, 

much of the forest and prairie in the 

watershed, which includes the upland 

bluffs, was converted to agricultural 

land. Since the 1940s urbanization has 

resulted in the uplands. These land-use 

changes have caused increased stream 

flows to the river that result in higher 

rates of erosion. Erosion of the upland 

bluffs has resulted in the loss of private land and deposition of sediment 

in the American Bottoms has resulted 

in increased flooding.

Sediment, hydraulic, geomorphic, 

and hydrologic data are needed in 

Judys Branch to assist the Illinois 

Department of Natural Resources, 

Office of Water Resources (IDNROWR), St. Louis Corps of Engineers, 

and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation 

Service in their analysis of river rehabilitation and watershed-management 

alternatives to help control erosion in 

the upland bluffs. This project 

advances the knowledge and understanding of sediment processes and 

erosion of wind-blown deposits of 

loess in Illinois and similar streams in 

the Midwest.

Automated streamflow equipment and sediment samplers are 

installed at three sites in the watershed. Information collected at the 

gages will be used to calculate sediment yield of the watershed and compare effects of urbanization on the 

stream flow and sediment delivery to 

the river. All streamflow data will be 

used by IDNR-OWR staff to verify a 

step-backwater hydraulic model and a 

hydrologic model developed for the 

Judys Branch and watershed. The 

streamflow and sediment data also 

will help determine the channel-forming discharge. Lastly, collecting sediment data throughout the life of the 

project will be useful in evaluating the 

effectiveness of the rehabilitation and 

management decisions.

The purpose of the geomorphic 

assessment is to link processes operating on the bed and banks of the unstable stream, Judys Branch, which is 

responding to changes in land use and 

river management. The geomorphic 

assessment includes channel evolution 

and bank stability analysis. To help 

determine the rate of streambank erosion of Judys Branch, 26 bank-rod 

locations are installed. Riverbed and 

bank samples have been collected at 

each of the bank-rod locations. The 

undisturbed strength of the riverbanks 

was determined at the 26 bank-rod 

locations by means of a field measurement instrument, vane shear apparatus. Soil corings have been collected at 

six locations throughout the stream 

network. IDNR-OWR personnel have 

surveyed the majority of the stream 

channel and surrounding floodplain at 

approximately 300 to 500 feet intervals. Future survey information will 

assist in documenting the overall geomorphic progression of the river. The 

above data are being used to determine 

the stability of the stream.

Detailed sediment and geomorphic data are being collected on a 

pilot-bluff watershed, Judys Branch, 

in the Metro East area of Illinois. Data 

collected in the present monitoring 

program will help facilitate river engineering analysis and decisions to help 

control erosion in the bluff stream.

METRO EAST SEDIMENT AND GEOMORPHIC STUDY

BY

TIMOTHY D. STRAUB, HYDROLOGIST

Figure 1. A 3-dimensional view of the study area shows the change from the lowland (green) to 

the upland bluff area.
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DuPage County, in northeastern 

Illinois, is one of the fastest growing 

counties in the United States and 

includes 39 municipalities as well as 

unincorporated areas. Within the 

332-square mile county are 6 major 

watersheds: Salt Creek, East Branch 

DuPage River, West Branch DuPage 

River, Sawmill Creek, Des Plaines 

River tributaries, and Fox River tributaries. In 1933, the county first 

adopted a countywide zoning ordinance to regulate land use in the 

unincorporated areas. After the 

record-breaking flood of August 

1987, the DuPage County Stormwater Management Committee was 

established under enabling Illinois 

State legislation as a joint committee 

of county and municipal representatives, which authorized regional 

stormwater management programs 

for the collar counties surrounding 

Cook County. The Stormwater Management Committee oversees the 

Department of Development and 

Environmental Concerns (DEC). 

The responsibilities of DEC include 

watershed planning; floodplain map 

development; county ordinance 

implementation and enforcement; 

regional stormwater management 

project design and construction 

oversight; stream maintenance; and 

wetland plan and Wetland Banking 

Program implementation.

The DuPage County Stormwater Management Plan was 

adopted in late 1989 by the 24-member DuPage County Board. In 1991, 

the DuPage County Countywide 

Stormwater and Flood Plain Ordinance was adopted. The Department 

of Development and Environmental 

Concerns and its predecessors, 

together with municipal engineers, 

cooperated in drafting the ordinance 

that details specific responsibilities 

for nearly every aspect of stormwater and floodplain management. All 

development within the county must 

meet the requirements of the ordinance. This comprehensive ordinance includes requirements for 

detention storage and zero increase 

in floodplain elevation for all new 

development; compensatory storage; avoidance of direct and indirect 

wetland impacts, regardless of size, 

where practicable, or wetland mitigation where avoidance is not practicable; and mitigation for all riparian 

functions impacted by new development. The county has negotiated delegation authority with the Illinois 

Department of Natural Resources 

(IDNR) and review authority with 

the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 

(Corps) to enable "one-stop" permitting. DuPage County is the only 

county in the United States with the 

authority to review wetland permit 

applications for the Corps, and also 

has been delegated floodway permitting by IDNR.

In 1983, engineers in DuPage 

County had begun utilizing the innovative Hydrologic Information Package (HIP) for stormwater planning. 

The HIP incorporated continuous 

rainfall-runoff simulation and 

unsteady-flow hydraulic routing. 

This package particularly was applicable to DuPage County because of 

the generally flat topography and 

poorly drained watersheds, and the 

availability of long-term meteorologic records. In 1986, the USGS 

began cooperating with DEC to 

develop a countywide network of 

long-term streamflow- and rainfallgaging stations for use in rainfallrunoff model calibration. An important aspect of this cooperation was 

the inclusion of smaller watersheds 

to be used in defining hydrologic 

response units for better understanding of hydrologic relations region 

wide. Additional USGS-DEC cooperative studies were to verify and 

document the one-dimensional, 

unsteady-flow Full Equations model 

(together with IDNR-OWR) that 

subsequently was approved by the 

Federal Emergency Management 

Agency for use in the National 

Floodplain Insurance Program; and 

the development of a near real-time 

flood simulation system that incorporates the continuous simulationhydrologic/unsteady-flow hydraulic 

modeling and a radio-telemetered 

dense raingage network. The data 

collected in cooperation with the 

USGS are available on the USGS 

Web site, and ongoing studies are 

developing improved ways to visualize rainfall distribution and simulate 

potential flooding and reservoir 

management scenarios in near realtime. These tools enable effective 

operation of the extensive flood control facilities and reservoirs managed 

by DEC, as well as assist in rapid 

response to flooding issues.

COOPERATOR SPOTLIGHT

DUPAGE COUNTY

DEVELOPMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS
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For over 100 years scientists 

have used aquatic macroinvertebrates as indicators of water quality. Using the macroinvertebrate 

community as an indicator of water 

quality is the most common reason 

that USGS Illinois District scientists collect and evaluate macroinvertebrate community samples, but 

it is the behavioral, physical, and 

life history characteristics of 

aquatic macroinvertebrate species 

that make their study especially 

interesting. Macroinvertebrates are 

animals without a backbone that 

can be seen with the naked eye. 

Many aquatic macroinbertebrates 

are the immature stages (larvae) of 

insects (including mayflies, caddisflies, beetles, and flies), but also 

include adult stages of insects in 

some groups, and noninsects, such 

as worms, snails, and crustaceans.

Aquatic macroinvertebrates are 

often most diverse in stream riffle 

habitat. The modified Hess sampler (fig. 1) is a common device 

used to sample macroinvertebrates 

in stream riffles. The sampler is a 

cylinder with two windows that 

allows water to flow through. The 

upstream window is outfitted with 

a mesh net and the downstream 

window is trailed by a mesh net 

and capture bucket. The sampler is 

pushed and rotated into the stream 

bottom, and then the stream bottom 

is disturbed or organisms and 

debris are carried by the water current into the capture bucket.

Common organisms in stream 

riffles are flat-headed mayfly larvae (fig. 2) and casebuilding caddisfly larvae. Flat-headed mayflies 

have bodies that are compressed 

top-to-bottom that allow themselves to hold close to rocks in the 

stream current while they eat algae 

and organic matter off the rock surface. Case-building and net-spinning caddisflies are the engineers 

of the insect world. Several types 

of caddisflies build cases that 

enclose their bodies, and others 

live in tubular nets that filter 

organic matter from the flowing 

water (fig. 3). Depending on the 

species, the cases may be made of 

small stones, leaves, or sticks. One 

caddisfly builds a “log cabin” of 

sticks that is square in cross-section. The cases offer protection, 

camouflage, and aid in the flow of 

water across the gills on their 

abdomens.

USGS scientists used the Hess 

sampler in a recent study in the 

Chicagoland area and calculated 

the “EPT Index” on the aquatic 

macroinvertebrate community 

samples. The EPT Index is calculated by counting the number of 

species in the insect orders mayflies (Ephemeroptera), stoneflies 

ADVENTURES IN COLLECTING AQUATIC MACROINVERTEBRATES

BY

MITCHELL A. HARRIS, ECOLOGIST

Figure 1. Using modified Hess sampler in stream riffle. Photo by Sarah Tegt, 

USGS, July 2000.

Figure 2. Flatheaded mayfly (Heptageniidae). Photo by Howell Daly, from 

the North American Benthological 

Society slide library.

Figure 3. Tubular capture net of caddisfly (Neureclipsis bimaculata: Polycentropodidae). Photo by Richard Merritt, 

from the North American Bethological 

Society slide library.
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(Plecoptera), and caddisflies (Trichoptera) in the samples. Many 

species in these orders are considered sensitive to changes in water 

quality. The scientists found that 

the greater the amount of urban 

land in a stream basin, the lower 

the number of sensitive aquatic 

macroinvertebrate species were in 

a sample.

Illinois District scientists also 

use other collecting techniques. 

More than one habitat may be sampled in order to examine the types 

of aquatic macroinvertebrates in an 

entire stream reach. The D-frame 

aquatic dip net (fig. 4) commonly 

is used to collect invertebrates 

from habitats such as riffles, snags, 

leaf packs, undercut banks, and 

pools.

The larvae of the Ebony Jewelwing damselfly commonly are 

found in the vegetation of stream 

margins. The beautiful adult Ebony 

Jewelwing (fig. 5) is a damselfly 

that has black wings and an iridescent blue-green abdomen. Burrowing mayflies are found in the 

stream depositional areas and sport 

“mandibular tusks.”

A technique to collect the adult 

stages of many aquatic insects is 

the use of an ultraviolet light at 

night. It can be advantageous to 

have adult specimens of insects 

because they are more readily 

identified down to the species level 

than the larval stages. It is best to 

go out to the streamside during 

warm humid summer nights, when 

the scientist will suspend the ultraviolet light bulb above a white 

sheet and wait for the insects to fly 

in. Usually, you don’t have to wait 

long for thousands of insects to 

descent upon you and the light.

During a recent study, several 

species of net-spinning caddisflies 

dominated ultraviolet light-collected samples from large rivers in 

central Illinois. The immature larval stages of these caddisflies live 

on hard surfaces in the current of 

streams of all sizes. They build 

nets of silk to capture food from 

the water current.

During the winter months 

many scientists take a break from 

collecting insects. Nevertheless, 

you can walk near a stream and 

sometimes find adult “winter 

stoneflies” crawling on the snow or 

branches in search of a mate.

These are a few of the devices 

and techniques used by the Illinois 

District scientists to collect aquatic 

macroinvertebrates, and some 

notable characteristics of the 

organisms that live in central Illinois streams.

Figure 4. The author sampling aquatic 

vegetation with D-frame net aquatic 

dip net. Photo by Debbie Adolphson, 

USGS, July 1999.

Figure 5. Ebony Jewelwing damselfly 

(Calopteryx). Photo by John Wallace, 

from the North American Benthological Society slide library.
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Harris, R.B. King, P.J. Terrio, and 

K.L. Warner

WRIR 00-4184, Equations for Estimating Clark Unit-Hydrograph Parameters for Small Rural Watersheds in 

Illinois, by T.D. Straub, C.S. 

Melching, and K.E. Kocher

WRIR 01-4056, Uranium and Radon in 

Ground Water in the Lower Illinois 

River Basin, by W.S. Morrow

OFR 01-50, Introduction to Field Methods for Hydrologic and Environmental Studies, by R.R. Holmes, Jr., 

P.J. Terrio, M.A. Harris, and P.C. 

Mills

Hydrogeologic inventory of the upper 

Illinois River Basin—Creating a 

large data base from well construction records by T.L. Arnold, J.J. 

Friedel, and K.L. Warner in Geological models for groundwater 

flow modeling–Workshop extended 

abstracts: convened on April 22, 

2001, Illinois State Geological Survey Open File Series 2001-1, p.1–5

Arsenic in glacial drift aquifers and the 

implication for drinking water—

lower Illinois River Basin by K.L. 

Warner in Ground Water, vol. 39, 

No. 3, May–June 2001 (p. 433–

442)

ILLINOIS DISTRICT

PUBLICATIONS

Listed below are publications that 

were recently published. District 

policy is to provide copies of our 

publications to requestors at no cost 

as long as the publication is in stock 

in the District office. To obtain 

copies of the following, or any other 

Illinois District publication, you may 

contact Donna Ayers at

(217) 344-0037, extension 3053 or 

by email at dmayers@usgs.gov.

FY 2001

OFR 00-400, Geology, Hydrology, and 

Water Quality in the Vicinity of a 

Brownfield Redevelopment Site in 

East Moline, Illinois, by R.T. Kay

WRIR 00-4152, Geology, Hydrology, 

and Ground-Water Quality of the 

Galena-Platteville Aquifer in the 

Vicinity of the Parson’s Casket 

Hardware Superfund Site, Belvidere, Illinois, by R.T. Kay

Circular 1209, Water Quality in the 

Lower Illinois River Basin, Illinois, 

1995-98, by G.E. Groschen, M.A. 

From the Mailbag

If you have comments about 

our newsletter or our Web site, 

please use the form on the back 

page. Comments also can be sent 

to dc_il@usgs.gov.

“... I must mention I have found 

the real-time data to be very interesting and we have found it to be quite 

helpful in our pursuit of our river 

survey. Again, thank you for your 

reply.”

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mailing list. I am a third gr. teacher 

in OK and cover earthquakes/volcanoes in my class...”

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response and I love your web site, 

very helpful in trying to determine 

when the Fox River will open up to 

boating again.”

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material on CD.”

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every way. It contains timely information of interest to me. Please keep 

me on the mailing list.”

“Great report! Very useful.”

“Checking the latest Illinois District Newsletter (which is a nice feature, by the way), ...”

“I’ve found your precipitation 

graphs to be extremely useful for our 

farm near Effingham, IL. Keep up 

the great work! ...”

“I have always found your site 

useful, and the recent upgrades are 

great. Good work!!”

“... I should add that both the 

newsletter and the district web site 

are exceptional in there combination 

of accessible data and brevity (an 

undervalued quality in these times of 

information overload).”

OUTREACH ACTIVITIES

The USGS participated in the 

Illinois State Fair in Springfield, Illinois August 9-19, 2001. Over 1.13 

million people attended the State Fair 

from across the State and surrounding areas. The USGS exhibit was a 

two tiered sand flume used to demonstrate geomorphic and hydraulic principals. The sand was a prefabricated 

plastic that allowed easy transport 

and visibility when observing sediment transport. Children and teachers 

enjoyed the opportunity to get handson experience in stream modification. 

Information on the USGS data collection sites, Web access information, 

magnets, bookmarks, and educational 

materials were distributed to many 

interested citizens. The excitement 

from the visitors was inspiring. Two 

parents of a family of four told Jim 

Duncker (Illinois District hydrologist), “We gave our children the 

option of returning to one exhibit in 

the time remaining at the fair, and 

they wanted to return here (USGS 

exhibit).”