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Water Survey

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  • Increased Water Demand Threatens Deep Bedrock Aquifer Water Supplies in Northeastern Illinois

    Oct 12, 2015 2:30 pm

    Deep sandstone aquifers that feed water supplies to parts of Northeastern Illinois are at risk of becoming partially or completely depleted in the next 35 years, a new study at the Illinois State Water Survey (ISWS) suggests.

  • Illinois soil temperatures are cooler than normal in mid-April

    Apr 20, 2023 2:00 pm

    Cooler weather in mid-April has caused Illinois soil temperatures to fall.

  • Water Survey to analyze flood risks in Macoupin County, Illinois

    Jul 10, 2020 1:15 pm

    Illinois State Water Survey (ISWS) hydrologic and hydraulic modeling in Macoupin County, Illinois, is underway as part of a study to help local communities identify areas of high flood risk for flood mitigation planning.

  • Short-Term Weather Lore Holds a Kernel of Truth

    Oct 25, 2010 12:00 am

    Before the Internet, The Weather Channel, and NOAA radios, our ancestors relied on nature to tell its tale of upcoming weather. Moss growing on the south side of trees and squirrels hiding their nuts deep underground were thought to foretell a severe winter ahead.

    Some natural prognostications like these are grounded in truth, given our current knowledge of meteorology, but others are purely fiction, according to State Climatologist Jim Angel of the Illinois State Water Survey at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

  • cropped map of Chicagoland water sources

    Water Survey maps complex web of water use in Illinois

    Nov 7, 2017 2:30 pm

    Scientists at the Illinois State Water Survey have developed an interactive map of where every community in Illinois gets its water. Sources include Lake Michigan, rivers and reservoirs, and groundwater.

  • Water Survey to analyze flood risks in eight east-central and southeastern Illinois counties

    Jan 27, 2023 11:45 am

    Illinois State Water Survey (ISWS) crews are starting to collect data within the Embarras River watershed as part of a multiple-phase hydrologic and hydraulic study to help local communities identify areas of high flood risk for flood mitigation planning. Results from the new study will be used to update the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs), which typically depict the 1 percent and 0.2 percent annual-chance floodplains.

  • ""

    Soils cooler in October

    Oct 18, 2019 7:30 am

    Soil temperatures have fallen across the state as October brought cooler weather, according to Jennie Atkins, Water and Atmospheric Resources Monitoring (WARM) program manager at the Illinois State Water Survey.

    Soil temperatures at 4 inches under sod averaged 57 degrees on Oct. 16, 2 degrees below the long-term average for mid-October. Temperatures have been steadily falling throughout the month, dropping 18 degrees since Oct. 1. Daily highs have ranged from the mid 50s to low 60s.

  • Online tool estimates nitrogen availability for crop fields

    Apr 6, 2023 1:30 pm

    An atmospheric scientist at the Illinois State Water Survey (ISWS) is perfecting his online and Android app decision-support tool that helps farmers schedule applications based on real-time nitrogen availability in local soils.

  • Soils are drying out across Illinois in October

    Oct 16, 2020 1:45 pm

    Rainfall was lower than average throughout the state in the first half of October. According to the Midwestern Regional Climate Center, Illinois received 1.36 inches from Oct. 1 to 15, 1.08 inches below normal. Combined with a dry September for southern and parts of central Illinois, these conditions have caused soil moisture levels to fall to near the wilting points for most of the state.

  • Water Survey to analyze flood risks in Boone and Winnebago counties

    Mar 11, 2021 3:45 pm

    Illinois State Water Survey (ISWS) hydrologic and hydraulic modeling in Boone and Winnebago Counties, Illinois is underway as part of a study to help local communities identify areas of high flood risk for flood mitigation planning.

  • ""

    Soils are warming and drying in mid-May

    May 17, 2019 10:00 am

    After a cooling spell last weekend, soil temperatures are once again rising in Illinois, according to Jennie Atkins, Water and Atmospheric Resources Monitoring (WARM) Program manager at the Illinois State Water Survey, University of Illinois.

  • Near-surface soil temperatures and moisture levels are declining in mid-April

    Apr 16, 2021 11:30 am

    Colder weather in the second week of April has caused soil temperatures to decline in Illinois.

  • Water Survey to analyze flood risks in Rock Island County, Illinois

    Apr 27, 2022 2:15 pm

    Illinois State Water Survey (ISWS) hydrologic and hydraulic modeling in Rock Island County, Illinois is underway as part of a study to help local communities identify areas of high flood risk for flood mitigation planning.

  • Walt Kelly, Zohreh Askari, and Sam Panno

    PRI researchers gain new insights into how groundwater flows within the Illinois Basin

    Sep 15, 2017 3:00 pm

    A conceptual model of water movement in rock layers many feet underground, published by Prairie Research Institute scientists, shows for the first time that water is flowing steadily south through the thick sequence of rock layers that form the Illinois Basin.

  • Road salt

    ISWS wins Salt Symposium Chloride Reduction Leadership award

    Aug 30, 2023 10:00 am

    Starting in the late 1990s, the ISWS began assessing groundwater quality data in the Chicago region to determine how chloride concentrations might be increasing with time due to road deicing applications. It turns out almost all water resources in the region are being impacted. Because of these efforts and increased awareness, various counties and municipalities in the region now practice sensible salting, including pre-application of brines and training of operators. 

  • PRI scientists provide winter soil conditions and an insect pest forecast for Illinois

    Mar 14, 2022 9:30 am

    Near-average winter soil and air temperatures are an indication that crop insect pests may have survived the cold in Illinois, according to scientists Jennie Atkins and Kelly Estes at the Prairie Research Institute (PRI) at the University of Illinois.

  • floodwaters covering most of a traffic sign

    Water Survey to analyze flood risks in McDonough County

    Feb 12, 2020 1:30 pm

    The Illinois State Water Survey will be conducting hydrologic and hydraulic modeling in McDonough County, Illinois, as part of a study to help local communities identify areas of high flood risk.

  • University of Illinois-Washington University team part of NSF’s program focused on equitable water solutions

    Mar 19, 2024 4:15 pm

    The National Science Foundation recently announced the awarding of 15 grants, totaling $9.8 million, to interdisciplinary teams under Track K: Equitable Water Solutions, focused on research to benefit society at large. The University of Illinois team, working with researchers at Washington University in St. Louis, received $650,000 for a one-year effort to further develop their idea of passive sampling of water quality at the tap.

  • ISWS is Pioneer in Tracking Tornadoes by Radar

    Apr 9, 2012 8:00 pm

    The Illinois State Water Survey played a key role in developing tornado-tracking technology used today to issue warnings of impending severe storms.  While testing radar equipment to measure rainfall rates in 1953, ISWS meteorologists were the first to photograph and document a hook echo, a classic sign of tornado development.

  • momcilo markus

    Momcilo Markus named Head of the Watershed Science Section

    Jun 21, 2023 3:15 pm

    Markus specializes in hydrological forecasting and artificial neural networks. His work on the effects of climate change and urbanization on water resources, statistical evaluation of streamflow and water quality networks, stochastic modeling for load estimation, data mining, and hydrologic flood frequency analyses has contributed to the development of the National Weather Service River Forecast System.

  • water pipe

    ISWS-Waterly partnership digitizes groundwater data

    Jun 15, 2022 2:00 pm

    Leveraging Waterly software will allow the ISWS groundwater science team to acquire almost real-time water pumping data that will amplify the team’s ability to forecast aquifer changes and gain a better understanding of current and future water risks across Illinois.

  • irrigation system watering young plants in a field

    Time for Illinoisans to report irrigation water use

    Sep 30, 2021 3:00 pm

    The deadline is approaching for Illinoisans to report their 2021 irrigation water use to the Illinois Water Inventory Program. The deadline for individual reporting is Jan. 1, 2022, while aggregate reports are due by March 1, 2022.

  • girl drinking water

    Water Survey analyzes home water supplies

    Jan 7, 2020 3:00 pm

    When Illinoisans with private wells have questions about their home water supply, the Water Survey’s Public Service Lab can provide answers. Our lab can analyze water from any Illinois well, checking for parameters including calcium, magnesium, iron, arsenic, manganese, sodium, hardness, total dissolved solids, alkalinity, color, turbidity, fluoride, chloride, nitrate, and sulfate. 

  • Rock Island county map of structure-based flood risk assessment

    FEMA honors Water Survey and Illinois Department of Natural Resources

    May 18, 2021 3:00 pm

    The Illinois State Water Survey and the Office of Water Resources in the Illinois Department of Natural Resources took first place in FEMA’s 2021 National Cooperating Technical Partner Recognition Award for their statewide efforts to assess flood risk at the individual property level. 

  • ""

    Illinois’ soils are cooler and drier in mid-April

    Apr 17, 2020 9:00 am

    Colder weather entering Illinois has caused soil temperatures to fall, according to Jennie Atkins, Water and Atmospheric Resources Monitoring (WARM) program manager at the University of Illinois’ Illinois State Water Survey.

  • Water Survey to analyze flood risks in Boone, DeKalb, Ogle, and Winnebago counties

    Jan 27, 2022 1:00 pm

    Illinois State Water Survey (ISWS) hydrologic and hydraulic modeling in Boone, DeKalb, Ogle and Winnebago Counties, Illinois is underway as part of a study to help local communities identify areas of high flood risk for flood mitigation planning.

  • Water Survey to analyze flood risks in Massac County, Illinois

    Dec 23, 2020 1:15 pm

    The Illinois State Water Survey (ISWS) announced today that new hydrologic and hydraulic modeling in Massac County, Illinois is underway as part of a study to help local communities identify areas of high flood risk for flood mitigation planning.

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    Warmer, wetter winter leaves crop pest picture unclear

    Mar 3, 2020 8:00 am

    A warmer, wetter winter has caused higher than normal soil temperatures across the state, which could be helping agriculture pests survive the season.

  • Water Survey receives grant to sample wells in disadvantaged areas of Chicago

    Oct 26, 2022 9:00 am

    Evan Rea, head of the Health and Environmental Applications Laboratory (HEAL) at the Illinois State Water Survey (ISWS) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U. of I.), was recently awarded a grant by the U. of I. Chancellor’s Office to sample private wells in the Chicago metro area. The Chancellor’s Call to Action to Address Racism & Social Injustice Research Program provides $2 million annually to U. of I. researchers to support projects that address systematic racism and social justice, law enforcement and criminal justice reform, and disparities in health and health care.

  • Illinois State Water Survey celebrates 125 years of water and weather research

    ISWS kicks off 125th anniversary year

    Mar 10, 2020 8:00 am

    The Illinois State Water Survey (ISWS) held the first of five statewide events commemorating 125 Years of Water and Weather on Feb. 4 in Champaign.

  • flooded river

    Water Survey to analyze flood risks along the Wabash River

    May 20, 2019 8:30 am

    The Illinois State Water Survey (announced today that new hydrologic and hydraulic modeling of the Wabash River and select tributaries is underway as part of a study to help local communities identify high flood-risk areas within the Lower Wabash and Middle Wabash-Busseron watersheds for flood mitigation planning in Illinois.

  • Midwest Heavy Rain and Flooding is Compared to 1993 Flood

    Jun 13, 2008 12:00 am

    The recent heavy rain in the Midwest and flooding in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Missouri are drawing comparisons with the weather and events associated with the Great Flood of 1993 on the Mississippi River, according to Steve Hilberg, director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Midwestern Regional Climate Center (MRCC) at the Illinois State Water Survey. Climatologists there have compared 2008 weather events with what occurred in 1993 to place the current situation in perspective.

  • Soil moisture levels rose in mid-May

    Soils are wetter in Illinois from mid-May showers

    May 19, 2020 2:30 pm

    Recent rains have caused soil moisture levels to rise in most of Illinois, according to Jennie Atkins, Water and Atmospheric Resources Monitoring (WARM) program manager at the Illinois State Water Survey.

  • TapTalk icon

    Water Survey team launches podcast for drinking water professionals

    Sep 9, 2021 8:15 am

    The team behind WaterOperator.org and Private Well Class is launching a new podcast to strengthen connections between the many stakeholders involved in ensuring that every American has water that is safe to drink. The first two episodes of Tap Talk: The Drinking Water in Rural America Podcast are available now! 

  • Illinois’ mild winter might benefit insect pests this spring

    Mar 9, 2023 2:45 pm

    Above normal air temperatures this winter kept Illinois average soil temperatures higher than usual. These mild conditions are favorable for insect pests that overwinter in Illinois, but many other factors will affect insect populations for the upcoming growing season, according to scientists at the Prairie Research Institute (PRI), a part of the University of Illinois.

  • PRI water and climate experts take part in new State Water Plan and its goals

    Jan 23, 2023 3:00 pm

    Scientists at the Prairie Research Institute (PRI) have contributed their expertise and data on multiple water issues to inform the newly released 2022 Illinois State Water Plan, which serves as an advisory to address water-related challenges for the next seven years. PRI will also play an integral part in reaching the plan’s goals, particularly in developing an Illinois Integrated Water Information Center, a portal to water science information and technology in Illinois.

  • eclipse

    Water Survey program to monitor weather effects of the solar eclipse

    Apr 3, 2024 8:45 am

    As the solar eclipse brings a spectacular show in the sky on April 8, viewers can also follow its path online as the Water and Atmospheric Resources Monitoring (WARM) program at the Illinois State Water Survey offers real-time monitoring of changing weather conditions during the event. 

  • Water Survey to analyze flood risks in Bureau County, Illinois

    Jun 14, 2021 4:30 pm

    Illinois State Water Survey (ISWS) hydrologic and hydraulic modeling in the Villages of Tiskilwa and Walnut (Bureau County, Illinois) is underway as part of a study to help local communities identify areas of high flood risk for flood mitigation planning.

  • Illinois drought and soil moisture conditions worsen in mid-June

    Jun 15, 2023 10:00 am

    Northeastern and central Illinois are now experiencing severe drought, as dry conditions persist across the state in the second week of June, causing soil moisture levels to drop and record-low water levels in some areas of the Illinois River. Also, corn and soybeans in parts of southwestern, central, and northeastern Illinois are showing signs of slow growth, according to Illinois State Climatologist Trent Ford and Jennie Atkins, Water and Atmospheric Resources Monitoring (WARM) program manager at the Illinois State Water Survey.

  • Bondville weather station

    Bondville weather station has a long history of research partnerships

    May 3, 2022 1:15 pm

    Like clockwork, monitoring towers and scientific gadgets run continuously at the Bondville Environmental and Atmospheric Research Site (BEARS) in central Illinois, gathering data on current weather, climate, and atmospheric conditions. The facility caters mainly to government agencies and university researchers, offering services that few other weather stations provide.

  • Warmer soils this winter in Illinois could indicate healthy insect populations for spring

    Mar 5, 2021 9:00 am

    Despite the cold weather this February, winter soil temperatures averaged 1 to 2 degrees higher than the long-term averages in Illinois, indicating a greater chance of insects surviving the winter.

  • A lack of rain prompts drier soils across Illinois in mid-June

    Jun 17, 2020 8:00 am

    Drier weather has led to declining soil moisture across Illinois, according to Jennie Atkins, Water and Atmospheric Resources Monitoring (WARM) program manager at the Illinois State Water Survey.

  • Water Survey to analyze flood risks in Clinton, Fayette, Shelby, and Washington Counties, Illinois

    Mar 27, 2024 1:00 pm

    The Illinois State Water Survey (ISWS) is collecting data within the Upper, Middle, and Lower Kaskaskia River watersheds as part of a multiple-phase hydrologic and hydraulic study to help local communities identify areas of high flood risk for flood mitigation planning. 

  • Cooler soil temperatures in mid-April

    Apr 18, 2018 8:45 am
  • well water

    Coming soon: new hotline, website, and maps on private wells

    Nov 27, 2023 11:15 am

    A new hotline, website, and other resources will soon be available through the Illinois State Water Survey (ISWS) for private well and septic system owners and the water professionals that serve them. 

  • Water Survey to analyze flood risks along the Little Wabash River

    Nov 13, 2018 10:30 am

    The Illinois State Water Survey announced today that new hydrologic and hydraulic modeling of the Little Wabash River is underway as part of a study to help local communities identify areas of high flood risk along the Little Wabash River and its tributaries for flood mitigation planning.

  • grey clouds

    Team spotlight: Climate and Atmospheric Science

    Mar 11, 2020 12:00 pm

    The Water Survey’s Climate and Atmospheric Science team investigates the potential statewide impacts of climate change, including extreme precipitation changes (flooding, drought), availability of atmospheric resources for green energy generation, changes in the urban heat island, and integration of climate models into systems that take into account human population growth, health, and activities.

  • Hideyuki Terashima, Walt Kelly, Katie Buckley, Jennifer Wilson, and Steve Wilson

    Water Survey hosts National Private Well Conference

    Jun 3, 2019 11:30 am

    The Illinois State Water Survey organized and hosted the 2nd National Private Well Conference May 21-23, 2019 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. There were over 120 attendees from 33 states at the event, which featured 25 presentations, a driller's panel, and a dozen 5-minute lightning talks.

  • Previous records slashed with monumental cold conditions in Illinois

    Jan 31, 2019 4:00 pm

    Illinois has been experiencing some of the coldest weather that has been seen in decades and, in some locations, ever.

  • drilling equipment in field

    ISGS, ISWS install new wells for national groundwater monitoring

    Nov 6, 2018 12:30 pm

    Scientists and staff from the Illinois State Geological Survey and the Illinois State Water Survey  ollaborated with county and local governments in Kane County to install groundwater-monitoring wells in northeast Illinois as part of the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Ground Water Monitoring Network.