Illinois NLRS Program and Project Narratives

This site features NGO partner program and project narratives, searchable by title, date, and categories. These narratives have been reported in the Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy (NLRS) annual reports and updates. Please note that this is not an exhaustive list of all nutrient loss-related initiatives across Illinois.

The NLRS is a statewide, collaborative effort aimed at reducing the levels of nitrogen and phosphorus entering Illinois waterways. This page specifically highlights NGO-led efforts that have contributed to the strategy since 2023.

  • Agriculture and Point Source Sector Partnership- Testing Best Management Practices: 2021-22 Update

    Dec 1, 2023 12:30 pm by Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy Team2023 Biennial ReportAgriculturePoint Sources

    The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, MWRDGC, established a Nutrient Loss Reduction Research and Demonstration Project on agricultural land at its Fulton County site to foster collaboration with the agricultural sector to develop and expedite the implementation of nutrient reduction practices. The 13,500-acre property is located between the cities of Canton and Cuba, about 190 miles southwest of Chicago and 40 miles southwest of Peoria. It was originally purchased in 1970 to restore strip-mined land; approximately 4,000 acres were converted to productive farmland.

    Since 2015, research and demonstration projects have been established at the site in collaboration with many partners, such as Illinois Central College; Ecosystem Exchange; Illinois Farm Bureau; Fulton County Farm Bureau; the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s Department of Crop Sciences and Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering; and the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center. Over the years, projects have included inter-seeded cover cropping, riparian grass buffers, denitrifying bioreactors, runoff irrigation, subirrigation, drainage water management, designer biochar, watershed-scale nutrient reduction demonstrations, and evaluation of struvite as a slow-release phosphorus fertilizer.

    In 2021, the partners received funding through an Illinois Nutrient Research & Education Council, NREC, grant for a new multi-year study at the Fulton County site to evaluate struvite as a slow-release phosphorus fertilizer. Struvite is a product generated from the wastewater treatment process and is being evaluated in field-scale trials. MWRDGC is one such site where struvite is being recovered and reused as fertilizer.

    In 2021 and 2022, field days were held at the Fulton County site in collaboration with MWRDGC, Illinois Farm Bureau, Fulton County Farm Bureau, Cook County Farm Bureau, NREC, and several University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researchers. Participants included leaders representing the partner agencies, farmers, agriculture sector leaders, and other stakeholders. Research trials highlighted at the field days included woodchip bioreactors and designer biochar, irrigation and subirrigation, drainage water manage­ment, struvite application trials, and more. The field days drew crowds of more than 50 people in both years, bringing together diverse stakeholders to learn about on-site agriculture nutrient reduction research and ways that MWRDGC partners with IFB and other agriculture stakeholders on nutrient reduction initiatives.

    In addition to field days, partners also bridged the gap between point source and non-point source stake­holders by hosting farmer tours at MWRDGC facilities. These outreach events provided invaluable oppor­tunities for farmers to see how point source groups like MWRDGC address nutrient reduction goals. They also served as opportunities to discuss future collaborations.

    All partners value the opportunities for collaboration that have stemmed from this project. The groups will once again bring farmers and the MWRDGC research team together at the Fulton County research and demonstration site in 2023 and are making plans to update their partnership publication.

    For more information, visit www.ilfb.org/ruralurban.