A watershed-based planning effort for the Des Plaines River is underway and is scheduled to be completed in 2018. The planning area covers 235 square miles of the watershed and is primarily located in Lake County, but it includes portions of Cook County and Kenosha County in Wisconsin.
The Des Plaines River Watershed Plan will include recommended actions to address both point and non-point source pollutant loads. Watershed planning will evaluate stressors in the watershed, including sources of nutrients that cause dissolved oxygen impairment, as well as other pollutants of concern.
The watershed planning process includes an extensive water quality monitoring program that is sponsored and funded by the Des Plaines River Watershed Workgroup (DRWW), a collaboration of wastewater treatment plants, municipalities, and other agencies and organizations. The monitoring program will sample 70 sites, which will include biological and habitat assessments, in addition to water and sediment chemistry.
In 2016, DRWW held nine watershed-planning meetings with the Des Plaines River Watershed Planning Committee. It is anticipated that this stakeholder-led effort will use monitoring data and watershed plan recommendations to determine nutrient loss reductions that will restore the Des Plaines River and then implement the plan recommendations.
Figures 5.9 and 5.10 depict the number of Des Plaines River major facilities with phosphorus limits in their permits and those that have submitted feasibility and optimization studies, respectively.
