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Geology, Hydrology, Water Quality, and Potential for Interbasin Invasive-Species Spread by Way of the Groundwater Pathway Near Lemont, Illinois

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Geology, Hydrology, Water Quality, and Potential for Interbasin Invasive-Species Spread by Way of the Groundwater Pathway Near Lemont, Illinois Prepared in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as part of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Geology, Hydrology, Water Quality, and Potential for Interbasin Invasive-Species Spread by Way of the Groundwater Pathway Near Lemont, Illinois Scientific Investigations Report 2016–5095 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey Cover. View of construction along wall of Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal south of Romeo Road, 1892–1900; note clay-filled karst feature in foreground. (Print ICHi-65121, photograph by Chicago Sanitary, courtesy of Chicago History Museum.) Geology, Hydrology, Water Quality, and Potential for Interbasin Invasive-Species Spread by Way of the Groundwater Pathway Near Lemont, Illinois By Robert T. Kay, Patrick C. Mills, and P. Ryan Jackson Prepared in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as part of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Scientific Investigations Report 2016–5095 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey U.S. Department of the Interior SALLY JEWELL, Secretary U.S. Geological Survey Suzette M. Kimball, Director U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia: 2016 For more information on the USGS—the Federal source for science about the Earth, its natural and living resources, natural hazards, and the environment, visit http://www.usgs.gov or call 1-888-ASK-USGS For an overview of USGS information products, including maps, imagery, and publications, visit http://store.usgs.gov To order this and other USGS information products, visit http://store.usgs.gov Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. Although this report is in the public domain, permission must be secured from the individual copyright owners to reproduce any copyrighted materials contained within this report. Suggested citation: Kay, R.T., Mills, P.C., and Jackson, P.R., 2016, Geology, hydrology, water quality, and potential for interbasin invasive-species spread by way of the groundwater pathway near Lemont, Illinois: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2016–5095, 91 p., http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/sir20165095. ISSN 2328-0328 (online) iii Acknowledgments The authors thank Andrew Teeple of the Texas Water Science Center of the U.S. Geological Survey for performing the surface geophysical surveys. The authors thank Donald Mikulic of the Illinois State Geological Survey for his guidance in the characterization of the dolomite deposits. The authors thank Jim Ursic of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for performing borehole and surface geophysical surveys. Finally, the authors thank the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago for providing site access and for the use of their data. v Contents Abstract ...........................................................................................................................................................1 Introduction.....................................................................................................................................................1 Biology of Asian Carps .........................................................................................................................3 Surface-Water and Groundwater Hydrology ..................................................................................5 Purpose and Scope ..............................................................................................................................7 Methods of Investigation .....................................................................................................................7 Geology ............................................................................................................................................................8 Bedrock Deposits................................................................................................................................11 Unconsolidated Deposits ..................................................................................................................14 Hydrology ......................................................................................................................................................26 Des Plaines River ................................................................................................................................26 Stage and Discharge .................................................................................................................26 Bathymetry ..................................................................................................................................26 Composition of Bed Material ...................................................................................................30 Illinois and Michigan Canal ...............................................................................................................32 Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal .....................................................................................................35 Wetlands and Seeps ..........................................................................................................................35 Groundwater .......................................................................................................................................37 Implications of Water-Level Data Regarding the Potential for Interbasin Spread of Asian Carps by Way of the Groundwater Pathway ..............................40 Water Quality ................................................................................................................................................42 Water-Quality Profiling in the CSSC.................................................................................................44 Temperature .........................................................................................................................................48 Specific Conductance ........................................................................................................................48 Dissolved Oxygen................................................................................................................................51 Implications of Water-Quality Data Regarding the Potential for Interbasin Spread of Asian Carps by Way of the Groundwater Pathway ..............................51 Potential for Interbasin Spread of Asian Carps by Way of the Groundwater Pathway ...................53 Summary and Conclusions .........................................................................................................................58 References Cited..........................................................................................................................................59 Appendix 1. Asian Carps in the United States .....................................................................................62 Appendix 2. Map, Profiles, and Cross Sections of the Main Drainage Channel of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, from Chicago to Joliet, Illinois ..................................79 Appendix 3. Methods of Data Collection and Analysis ......................................................................80 Appendix 4. Detailed Geologic Assessment of the Bedrock Deposits ............................................86 vi Figures 1. Map showing location of area of interest and selected features in the vicinity of the Des Plaines River, Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, and Illinois and Michigan Canal in northeastern Illinois .......................................................................2 2. Map showing location of study area, focus area, and selected features in the vicinity of the Des Plaines River, Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, and Illinois and Michigan Canal between Stickney and Lockport, Illinois .................................4 3. Map showing location of direct-current resistivity surveys near Lemont, Illinois ......................................................................................................................................................6 4. Aerial photograph showing location of selected wells, resistivity profiles, and line of geologic section near Lemont, Illinois ...........................................................................9 5. Map showing location of data-collection points during the dye tracer test in the Des Plaines River near Lemont, Illinois, November 14–29, 2011 ..............................10 6. Chart showing stratigraphy, lithology, and secondary-permeability features in selected deposits of Silurian age near Lemont, Illinois ...........................................12 7. Photographs showing fractures and joints in the Silurian dolomite near Lemont, Illinois. A, Orthogonal joint pattern in Sugar Run Formation at Great Lakes Quarry between Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal and Illinois and Michigan Canal, B, horizontal and vertical fractures in the Joliet and Sugar Run Formations, north wall of Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, 0.25 mile upstream of Lemont Road, C, vertical joints in Joliet Formation, north wall of Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, 0.1 mile downstream of Lemont Road, and D, vertical joints in Joliet Formation south wall of Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, 0.1 mile downstream of Lemont Road .................................13 8. Map showing elevation of bedrock surface and thickness of unconsolidated deposits near the
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