Section 3.8 Little Calumet River Tributary Characteristics and Analysis 3.8 Little Calumet River The Little Calumet River subwatershed Table 3.8.1: Communities Draining to encompasses approximately 33 square Little Calumet River Subwatershed Within miles (27.66 in Cook County and 4.86 in Cook County Lake County, Indiana) within the Tributary Community northwestern portion of the Little Area (mi2) Calumet River watershed. Table 3.8.1 Blue Island 0.30 lists the communities that lie within the Calumet City 2.44 subwatershed and the associated Calumet Park <0.01 drainage area for each community Country Club Hills 0.02 contained within the subwatershed. Dixmoor 1.24 Dolton 2.40 Table 3.8.2 lists the land use breakdown by area within the Little Calumet River Harvey 4.35 subwatershed. Figure 3.8.1 provides an Lansing 4.35 overview of the tributary area of the Markham 2.26 subwatershed. Reported stormwater Midlothian 0.51 problem areas and proposed alternative Oak Forest 0.44 projects are also shown on the figure, and Phoenix 0.44 are discussed in the following Posen 0.17 subsections. Riverdale 1.95 South Holland 4.20 Within the Little Calumet River Unincorporated Cook County/ 2.59 subwatershed, a total of 13.8 stream miles Forest Preserve were studied among two tributaries, the Little Calumet River main stem and an Unnamed Tributary to the Little Calumet River. The remaining tributaries to the Little Calumet River were studied as separate subwatersheds (See Sections 3.1 through 3.7). Little Calumet River (LCRW) – Table 3.8.2: Land Use Distribution for The Little Calumet River Little Calumet River Subwatershed Within Cook County originates in Indiana near Hart Ditch (Plum Creek) at a flow Land Use Acres % divide, which varies in location Commercial/Industrial 2,466 13.9 depending on flow conditions and Forest/Open Land 4,279 24.1 precipitation distribution across Institutional 1,023 5.8 the watershed. At the flow Residential 8,137 46 divide, a portion of the Little Transportation/Utility 1,396 7.9 Calumet River flows easterly and Water/Wetland 262 1.5 becomes Burns Ditch at the Agricultural 126 0.7 confluence with Deep River, ultimately discharging into Lake Michigan. This occurs entirely within the State of Indiana. The easterly flowing portion of the Little Calumet River, although included in the hydrologic and hydraulic models created for the DWP, was not studied further as part of the DWP. A 3.8-1 Section 3.8 Little Calumet River Tributary Characteristics and Analysis . The westerly flowing portion continues west towards the Illinois State Line through Calumet City and Lansing. The River then turns north and flows through South Holland, turns west through Dolton, and then northwest through Riverdale and Dixmoor. The Little Calumet River meets its confluence with the Calumet-Sag Channel in Unincorporated Cook County, near Joe Louis the Champ Golf Course between Ashland Avenue and Halstead Street. An unnamed Tributary to the Little Calumet River (ULCR) originates in South Holland near the intersection of 165th Street and Cottage Grove Avenue and flows easterly, underneath the Bishop Ford Expressway, to its confluence with the Little Calumet River south of 159th Street in South Holland. Within the Little Calumet River subwatershed, one major detention facility has an effect on flows, the Thornton Transitional Reservoir. Thornton Transitional Reservoir – The reservoir is located off of Thorn Creek and has a diversion structure 17,000 linear feet upstream of the confluence of Thorn Creek with the Little Calumet River. The existing Thornton Transitional Reservoir holds approximately 11,000 acre-feet in its current configuration. The Thornton Transitional Reservoir, which is estimated to be completed in 2013, will use the same diversion structure on Thorn Creek and will allow 9,600 acre-feet of water to be diverted from Thorn Creek, affecting flows and stages in Thorn Creek and the Little Calumet River. 3.8.1 Sources of Data 3.8.1.1 Previous Studies Two previous studies were made available pertaining to the Little Calumet River: . Interim Review Report of Little Calumet River, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, December 1973 . Little Calumet River Watershed Engineering Design Report (Revised), U.S. Department of Agriculture, Metropolitan Sanitary District of Greater Chicago and the Illinois Department of Conservation, January 1977 During Phase A and Phase B of DWP development, additional survey, topography, precipitation, stream flow, land use and soils data needed for the development of the Little Calumet River subwatershed model were identified and collected. 3.8.1.2 Water Quality Data Water quality for the Little Calumet River subwatershed is monitored by the Metropolitan Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (the District), Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) and the United States Geological Survey (USGS). The District is responsible for monitoring the water quality of the streams and canals within its jurisdiction, and has three water quality monitoring stations on the Little Calumet River: Station 52, at Wentworth Avenue and the Little Calumet A 3.8-2 Section 3.8 Little Calumet River Tributary Characteristics and Analysis River; Station 57, at Ashland Avenue and the Little Calumet River; and Station 97, at 170th Street and Thorn Creek. Annual water quality summaries have been published by the District from 1970 through the present for Stations 52 and 57, and from 2001 through the present for Station 97. IEPA monitors water quality data at five locations in the Little Calumet River subwatershed as a part of the Ambient Water Quality Monitoring Network (AWQMN) in Cook County. Table 3.8.3 lists the locations of the five water quality monitoring stations. Table 3.8.3: IEPA Water Quality Monitoring Stations in the Little Calumet River Subwatershed Station ID Waterbody Location HA-06 Little Calumet River I-94, Dolton HB-03 Little Calumet River South US Route 6 Torrence Avenue HB-02 Little Calumet River South Wentworth Avenue HB-04 Little Calumet River South US Route 6 and 159th Street, South Holland HB-05 Little Calumet River South IL Route 83, Harvey Source: EPA STORET (Storage and Retrieval) database. At each station, samples are collected once every six-weeks and analyzed for a minimum of 55 water quality parameters including pH, temperature, specific conductance, dissolved oxygen, suspended solids, nutrients, fecal coliform bacteria, and total and dissolved metals. Additional parameters specific to the station, watershed, or sub network within the ambient network are also analyzed. The USGS operates two water quality monitoring stations in the Little Calumet River subwatershed as shown in Table 3.8.4. Sporadic data recordings are taken at each of the sites, though they are typically recorded at least once a month. The period of record and type of data monitored vary. Table 3.8.4: USGS Water Quality Monitoring Stations in the Little Calumet River Subwatershed Station ID Waterbody Location 5536290 Little Calumet River South Holland 5536325 Little Calumet River Harvey Source: http://waterdata.usgs.gov/usa/nwis/qw IEPA’s 2008 Integrated Water Quality Report, which includes the Clean Water Act (CWA) 303(d) and the 305(d) list, lists two segments within the Little Calumet River subwatershed as impaired. Table 3.8.5 lists the 303(d) listed impairments. No Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDL) has been developed for the Little Calumet River subwatershed. A 3.8-3 Section 3.8 Little Calumet River Tributary Characteristics and Analysis Table 3.8.5: IEPA Use Support Categorization and 303(d) Impairments in the Little Calumet River Watershed Impaired IEPA Waterbody Designated Potential Cause Potential Source Segment ID Use Fluoride, Nitrogen (Total), Oxygen, Dissolved, Phosphorus Urban Runoff/Storm Aquatic Life (Total), Sedimentation/Siltation, Sewers, Combined Silver, Total Dissolved Solids and Sewer Overflows Little Total Suspended Solids IL_HB-42 Calumet Fish River Mercury Source Unknown Consumption Primary Urban Runoff/Storm Contact Fecal Coliform Sewers, Combined Recreation Sewer Overflows Contaminated Fluoride, Nitrogen (Total), Sediments, Municipal Oxygen, Dissolved, Phosphorus Point Source Aquatic Life (Total), Sedimentation/Siltation, Discharges, Urban Silver, Oil and Grease, and Runoff/Storm Sewers Little Hexachlorobenzene and Combined Sewer IL_ HB-01 Calumet Overflows River Fish Mercury Source Unknown Consumption Primary Urban Runoff/Storm Contact Fecal Coliform Sewers, Combined Recreation Sewer Overflows NPDES point source discharges within the Little Calumet River subwatershed are listed in Table 3.8.6. In addition to the point source discharges listed, municipalities discharging to the Little Calumet River or its tributaries are regulated by IEPA’s NPDES Phase II Stormwater Permit Program, which was created to improve the quality of stormwater runoff from urban areas, and requires that municipalities obtain permits for discharging stormwater and implement six minimum control measures for limiting runoff pollution to receiving systems. Also as part of the Phase II Stormwater Permit Program, construction sites disturbing greater than 1 acre of land are required to get a construction permit. Table 3.8.6: Point Source Discharges in the Little Calumet River Subwatershed Name NPDES Community Receiving Waterway PHOENIX CSOs IL0072834 Phoenix Little Calumet River INDIANA HARBOR BELT IL0062863 Riverdale Little Calumet River RAILROAD Little Calumet River via storm RIVERDALE INDUSTRIES, INC IL0068926 Riverdale sewer Note: NPDES facilities