National Stream-Quality Accounting Network (NASQAN) monitors the water quality of large rivers within four of the Nation's largest river basins--the Mississippi, Columbia, Colorado, and Rio Grande. The network consists of 39 stations. Samples are collected with sufficient frequency that the flux of a wide range of constituents can be estimated. The objective of NASQAN is to characterize the water quality of these large rivers by measuring concentration and mass transport of a wide range of dissolved and suspended constituents, including nutrients, major ions, dissolved and sediment-bound heavy metals, common pesticides, and inorganic and organic forms of carbon. This information will be used (1) to describe the long-term trends and changes in concentration and transport of these constituents; (2) to test findings of the National Water-Quality Assessment Program (NAWQA); (3) to characterize processes unique to large-river systems such as storage and re-mobilization of sediments and associated contaminants; and (4) to refine existing estimates of off-continent transport of water, sediment, and chemicals for assessing human effects on the world's oceans and for determining global cycles of carbon, nutrients, and other chemicals.
The NASQAN sampling sites for which data are published in this report are Ohio River at Lock and Dam 53 near Grand Chain,Ill. (03612500), Mississippi River at Clinton, Iowa (05420500), and Mississippi River at Thebes (07022000).
The National Atmospheric Deposition Program/National Trends Network (NADP/NTN) provides continuous measurement and assessment of the chemical climate of precipitation throughout the United States. As the lead Federal agency, the USGS works together with over 100 organizations to accomplish the following objectives: (1) provide a long-term, spatial and temporal record of atmospheric deposition generated from a network of 191 precipitation chemistry monitoring sites, (2) provide the mechanism to evaluate the effectiveness of the significant reduction in SO2 emissions that began in 1995 as implementation of the Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA) occurred, and (3) provide the scientific basis and nationwide evaluation mechanism for implementation of the Phase II CAAA emission reductions for SO2 and NOx scheduled to begin in 2000.
Data from the network, as well as information about individual sites, are available through the World Wide Web at:
In Illinois, atmospheric-deposition data are available for five stations. Four of the five stations are operated by the University of Illinois; Agriculture Department and State Water Survey. The other stations is operated by Argonne National Laboratory. Data for these stations are not provided in this report but can be obtained over the Internet by URL previously noted.
The National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program of the U.S. Geological Survey is a long-term program with goals to describe the status and trends of water-quality conditions for a large, representative part of the Nation's ground- and surface-water resources; provide an improved understanding of the primary natural and human factors affecting these observed conditions and trends; and provide information that supports development and evaluation of management, regulatory, and monitoring decisions by other agencies.
Assessment activities are being conducted in 53 study units (major watersheds and aquifer systems) that represent a wide range of environmental settings nationwide and that account for a large percentage of the Nation's water use. A wide array of chemical constituents will be measured in ground water, surface water, streambed sediments, and fish tissues. The coordinated application of comparative hydrologic studies at a wide range of spatial and temporal scales will provide information for decision making by water-resources managers and a foundation for aggregation and comparison of findings to address water-quality issues of regional and national interest.
Communication and coordination between USGS personnel and other local, State, and Federal interests are critical components of the NAWQA Program. Each study unit has a local liaison committee consisting of representatives from key Federal, State, and local water-resources agencies, Indian nations, and universities in the study unit. Liaison committees typically meet semiannually to discuss their information needs, monitoring plans and progress, desired information products, and opportunities to collaborate efforts among the agencies.
Additional information about the NAWQA Program is available through the World Wide Web at:
In Illinois, a pilot study of the upper Illinois River Basin began in 1986. The three major work elements of the study were (1) an analysis of available information, (2) fixed-station sampling, and (3) synoptic sampling. The fixed-station sampling program was operated in cooperation with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. The fixed-station sampling program, through August 1990, consisted of eight stations that were sampled on a monthly basis; after August 1990, only four stations continued to be monitored. Synoptic sampling was conducted for trace metals and organic compounds in bottom material and for dissolved oxygen, bacteria, nutrients, and trace organic compounds in water. All sampling was discontinued in April 1992.
The upper Illinois River Basin study was re-established in 1997 to (1) define the present surface- and ground-water quality, (2) if possible, identify trends in surface- and ground-water quality, (3) evaluate the impacts of different land uses on stream and ground-water quality, and (4) identify areas where water quality is adversely affected by natural and/or human processes. Major water-quality issues being studied include sediment, dredging and associated contaminants; nutrients and eutrophication; dissolved oxygen; trace inorganic and organic compounds; effects of increasing urbanization; effects of ground-water mining on ground-water quality; degradation of aquatic habitat; and invasion of non-native species. Surface-water, ground-water and ecological sampling activities begin in 1999.
Work on the lower Illinois River Basin NAWQA study unit began in 1994. After 2 years of planning and historical data review, data
collection began in 1996. Major rivers in the basin are the Illinois, Vermilion, Mackinaw, Spoon, Sangamon, and La Moine Rivers. In water
year 1998, monthly surface-water samples were collected at fixed stations and analyzed for nutrients, major ions, suspended sediment, and
selected pesticides. Guidelines for collecting and processing stream-water samples are found in Shelton (1994). A series of habitat surveys
were completed and biological samples were collected. A subset (15) of wells sampled in 1996 and 1997 were resampled to verify detection
of agrichemicals. The ground-water samples were analyzed for major ions, nutrients, selected pesticides and selected trace metals. Guidelines
for collecting and processing ground-water samples are found in Koterba, Wilde, and Lapham (1995). The intensive data-collection
phase of the Lower Illinois River Basin study unit was completed during water year 1998.