!! v_o_lu_rn_e_2_ • Water Resources .SHAWNEE AREA ASSESSMENT ':I ~~ DEPARTMENT Of NATURAL RESOURCES SHAWNEE AREA ASSESSMENT VOLUME2: WATER RESOURCES Illinois Department of Natural Resources Office of Scientific Research and Analysis Illinois State Water Survey 2204 Griffith Drive Champaign, Illinois 61820 (217) 244-5459 October 2002 Illinois Department of Natural Resources 'One Natural Resources Way Springfield, U1inois 62702-1271 100 Printed by the authority of the State of lllinois ' Other CTAP Publications Assessments are also available for the following regions: Big Muddy River La Moine River Cache River Lower Des Plaines River Calumet Area Lower Sangamon River Chicago RiverlLake Shore Lower Rock River Driftless Area Mackinaw River Du Page River Prairie Parklands Embarras Ri ver Sinkhole Plain Fox River Spoon River Illinois Big Rivers Sugar-Pecatonica Rivers Illinois Headwaters Thorn Creek Illinois River Bluffs Upper Des Plaines River Kankakee River Upper Rock River Kaskaskia River Upper Sangamon River Kinkaid Area Vermilion River Kishwaukee River Vermilion River (Dlinois River Basin) Also available: Critical Trends Assessment Program 200i Report Critical Trends in l/linois Ecosystems l/linois Land Cover, An Atlas, plus CD-ROM inventory ofEcologically Resource-Rich Areas in l/linois l/linois Geographic information System, CD-ROM of digital geospatial data All CTAP and Ecosystems Program documents are available from the DNR Clearinghouse at (217) 782-7498 Or TTY (217) 782-9175. Selected publications are also available on the World Wide Web at http://dnr.state.il.us/orep/inrinlctap, or http://dnr.state.il.us/orep/c2000. For more information about CTAP, call (217) 524-0500 or e-mail [email protected]; for information on the Ecosystems Program call (217) 782-7940 or e-mail [email protected]. Equal opportunity to participate in programs of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) and those funded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other agencies is available to all individuals regardless ohace, sex, national origin, disability, age, religion or other non-merit factors. If you believe you have been discriminated against, contact the funding source's civil rights office and/or the Equal Employment Opportunity Officer. IDNR, One Natural Resources Way, Springfield, Ill. 62702-1271; 2171785-0067; TTY 2171782-9175. This infonnation may be provided in an alternative format if required. Contact the DNR Clearinghouse at 217/782-7498 for assistance. About This Report The Shawnee Area Assessment, part of a series of statewide regional assessments, examines approximately 623 square miles in southeastern Illinois. The report provides information on the natural and human resources of the area as a basis for managing and improving its ecosystems. The development of ecosystem-based information and management programs in Illinois are the result of three processes - the Critical Trends Assessment Program, Conservation Congress, and Water Resources and Land Use Priorities Task Force. Background The Critical Trends Assessment Program (CTAP) documents changes in ecological conditions. In 1994, using existing information, the program provided a baseline of ecological conditions.] Three conclusions were drawn from the baseline investigation: 1. the emission and discharge of regulated pollutants over the past 20 years has declined, in some cases dramatically, 2. existing data suggest that the condition of natural ecosystems in lllinois is rapidly declining as a result of fragmentation and continued stress, and 3. data designed to monitor compliance with environmental regulations or the status of individual species are not sufficient to assess ecosystem health statewide. Based on these findings, CTAP has begun to develop methods to systematically monitor ecological conditions and provide information for ecosystem-based management. Five components make up this effort: 1. identify resource rich areas, 2. conduct regional assessments, 3. publish an atlas and inventory of Illinois landcover, 4. train volunteers to collect ecological indicator data, and 5. develop an educational science curriculum that incorporates datacollection At the same time that CTAP was publishing its baseline findings, the Illinois Conservation Congress and the Water Resources and Land Use Priorities Task Force were presenting their respective findings. These groups agreed with the CTAP conclusion that the state's ecosystems were declining. Better stewardship was needed, and they determined that a voluntary, incentive-based, grassroots approach would be the most appropriate, one that recognized the inter-relatedness of economic development and natural resource protection and enhancement. I See The Changing Illinois Environment: Critical Trends, summary report and volumes 1-7. 111 From the three initiatives was born Conservation 2000, a program designed to reverse ecosystem degradation, primarily through the Ecosystems Program, a cooperative process of public-private partnerships that merge natural resource stewardship with economic and recreational development. To achieve this goal, the program provides financial incentives and technical assistance to private landowners. At the same time, CTAP identified 30 Resource Rich Areas (RRAs) throughout the state. In RRAs and other areas where Ecosystem Partnerships have been formed, CTAP is providing an assessment of the area, drawing from ecological and socio-economic databases to give an overview of the region's resources - geologic, edaphic, hydrologic, biotic, and socio­ economic. Although several of the analyses are somewhat restricted by spatial and/or temporal limitations of the data, they help to identify information gaps and additional opportunities and constraints to establishing long-term monitoring programs in the partnership areas. Shawnee Area The Shawnee Area is roughly defined as that portion of the Shawnee Hills located in Hardin and Pope counties and the eastern third of Johnson County, as well as small portions of Massac, Saline, and Gallatin counties. The 623-square-mile-area includes the Illinois watersheds that drain into the reach of the Ohio River between its confluence with the Saline River (near Saline Landing, IL) and Hamletsburg, IL, and the watersheds of two tributaries that drain into the Saline River: the Little Saline River and Rock Creek. It falls within the physiographic region called the Shawnee Hills Section. While most of the land is rugged hills, broad bottomlands are located along Bay Creek and, to a lesser extent, along the Ohio River. This assessment is comprised of four volumes. In Volume 1, Geology discusses the geology, soils, and minerals in the assessment area. Volume 2, Water Resources, discusses the surface and groundwater resources and Volume 3, Living Resources, describes the natural vegetation communities and the fauna of the region. Volume 4 contains two parts: Part I, Socio-Economic Profile, discusses the demographics, infrastructure, and economy of the area; and Part II, Environmental Quality, discusses air and water quality, and hazardous and toxic waste generation and management in the area. iv - ------------------------------------------- t 1 Scale 1:2700000 Drainage basins from 1:24000 scale watershed boundaries as delineated bV the U.S.G.S. Water Resources Division. Major drainage hasins ofIllinois and location of the Shawnee assessment area j~--? Cre;,l J;' I ;, Springsr_ i, .j Stonefon/ -~J r~Lake of 1_.1;;"'W..l1L~~N ,\/'" ~ gyp' col -. J P:; l I ---'--, \ \'1, !r::: ;­\:!. " t') n :J Cave-in­ j \~ Rock rJ~ .bv~ i/ ~~ L~r \~Vienna Q ~v( ,I ~o"" r _ G...,..) _ ~ ;l)\ .... ­ MASSACCO. I N .~ ~ 1, i ~'~.<iJ~ (}.~ _I)I I Be8,e ~C) I I :l(.. ( ( o';;;;~J____Jopp, i • , ) ",y Scale 1:355000 o 15 Miles i I . r-: 1I 20 Kilomeler>; ..::?,, .., ~, 1 - New " '~'c" \ Uberry Z ". I I 1J1..I Metropoi;s ''--~ '" I) Brookporr '" I ~-~ Subbasins in the Shawnee Assessment Area. Subbasin boundaries depicted are those determined by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. Contributors Project Coordinator Nani Bhowmik Report Coordinators Linda Dexter, Becky Ho~ard , Maps Kathleen Brown Introduction Rivers and Streams, Lakes, Physiography Michael Myers, H. Vernon Knapp Wetlands Michael Miller, Liane Suloway, Laura Keefer' Land Use Laura Keefer, Sandy Jones Climate and Trends in Climate James Angel Streamflow H. Vernon Knapp, Michael Myers Erosion and Sedimentation Misganaw Demissie, Renjie Xia, William Bogner Water Use and Availability Ground-Water Resources Kenneth Hlinka, Sean Sinclair Surface Water Resources H. Vernon Knapp Ground-Water Quality Kenneth Hlinka, Sean Sinclair, Thomas Holm • Contributor Affiliations: Michael Miller, Illinois State Geological Survey; Liane Suloway, Illinois Natural History Survey; Laura Keefer, minois State Water Survey. VII I .' Table of Contents Introduction 1 Basin Physiography 1 Rivers and Streams ~ .3 Lakes .5 Wetlands 5 Land Use 12 Climate and Trends in Climate 13 Overview 13 Temperature 13 Precipitation 17 Precipitation Deficits and Excesses .20 Severe Weather 20 Tornadoes 20 Hail 20 Thunderstorms 21 Summary 21 Streamflow and Trends in Streamflow 23 Streamgaging Records 23 Human Impacts on Streamflows in the Assessment Area 25 Variability in Annual Streamflows 25 Statistical Trend Analysis 25 Daily and Seasonal Variation in Flows 27 Flooding and High Flows ; 28 .Trend Assessment ~ 29 Seasonal Distribution ofFlood Events · 29 Low Flows and Drought .30 Seven-Day Low Flows 30 Multi-Year Drought Flows 31 Summary