R2002-80 AUTHORIZING AGREEMENT - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

the Monticello station. The highest nitrate-N concentrations during the monitoring period were observed from May 1998-April 2000. In order to best evaluate any on going and future land management changes, continued monitoring in the watershed is recommended. The additional I data will enhance the baseline data established in the watershed and detect any changes or trends '�, in nitrate-N levels in the watershed. ' The City of Decatur/ISWS monitoring effort in the Lake Decatur watershed has been the focus of several research groups at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (LTICTC) and has attracted additional funding since 1999 from the Illinois Council on Food and Agricultural Research (C-FAR), Water Quality Research Initiative (WQ-SR�. This funding will continue through June of 2003, with the object of collecting reliable stream data for studies conducting quantitative and modeling research in the Upper Sangamon River watershed to address nutrient mass balance issues. The product of this cooperative research will be an improved understanding of the movement of nitrogen in the watershed and effects of various best management practices (BMPs) on nitrogen levels. This grant builds on data collection efforts already established and funded by the City of Decatur, as well as other UIUC research projects funded under different grants. Due to this coordinated effort, streamflow, sediment, and nutrient data will be available for the Monticello (111), Camp Creek(104), and Big Ditch(106) stations. PROJECT OBJECTNES The main goal of this project is to collect reliable data throughout the Lake Decatur watershed for use by City of Decatur planners and resource managers to develop management alternatives based on scientific data. To accomplish this goal, we outline the following obj ectives. 1. Continue to maintain and operate watershed monitoring stations. Figure 1 shows the stations being monitored by the City of Decatur and C-FAR WQ-SRI and Table 1 presents the City of Decatur monitoring stations with the proposed sampling schedule. The Illinois State Water Survey will maintain the continuous stream recording equipment and the data records will be processed to determine continuous stream flows. Nitrate-N will continue to be sampled at the sites listed in Table l. This sampling schedule will provide the data needed to quantify the amount of nitrates being contributed to Lake Decatur from the watershed. 2. Collect additional data: At the request of the City of Decatur, samples will be collected for pH, metals, and non-volatile organic carbon (NVOC) analyses. One station will be added to collect these samples from Basin 1 in Lake Decatur. Samples will be retrieved from Lost Bridge identified as station 107. Table 1 presents the stations and sampling schedule. 2