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Creeks of the Middle Fox River: A Sierra Club Report Card

 

3-Year Average Pollutant Levels Measured by Sierra Club Volunteer Monitors
all values are in mg/l except turbidity which is measured in ftu's.

Tributary	Phosphate-P	Nitrate-N	Ammonia-N	Chloride	Sulfate	Turbidity
Tyler	0.31	2.61	0.13	49.6	60	21.4
Poplar	0.27	0.80	0.16	34.0	49	26.0
Brewster	0.38	1.48	0.28	22.0	79	24.5
Norton	0.29	0.95	0.12	29.0	47	24.0
Skyway	0.69	1.91	3.10	99.5	100	-
Ferson	0.23	2.09	0.12	21.5	49	15.1
White's	0.53	1.41	0.36	29.0	72	34.0
Mahonney	0.43	2.20	0.16	31.0	44	98.0
Mill	0.55	2.23	0.21	37.0	48	27.4
Indian	0.37	1.20	0.28	30.0	72	27.5
Waubonsee	0.20	1.55	0.06	45.0	73	33.3
Blackberry	0.31	2.45	0.21	22.5	79	41.3

There currently is no Illinois water quality standard for phosphorus. US EPA recommends 0.08 mg/l total phosphorus as a level indicative of a pristine stream in our ecoregion. Statewide, the average level of total phosphorus (of which phosphates are a subset) in Illinois rivers and streams is 0.38 mg/l.

There currently is no Illinois water quality standard for nitrates. US EPA recommends 2.18 mg/l total nitrogen as a level indicative of a pristine stream in our ecoregion. The average level of nitrate-N found in Illinois streams is 3.89 mg/l.

Ammonia water quality standards are based on the pH and temperature of the stream as well as the presence of sensitive early life stages of fish. For example, ammonia-nitrogen levels in Poplar Creek should not exceed a monthly average of 1.6 mg/l when early life stages are present. The average level of ammonia found in Illinois streams is 0.32 mg/l ammonia-N.

The Illinois water quality standard for both chloride and sulfate is 500 mg/l.

There currently is no Illinois water quality standard for turbidity.

 

The Report Card

Tyler	B.
Poplar	B+
Brewster	B
Norton	B+
Skyway	C
Ferson	A-
White's	B-
Mahonney	C+
Mill	B
Indian	A-
Waubonsee	B+
Blackberry	B-

Poplar Creek

Grade “B+”

• Watershed covers 44 square miles with 17 miles of stream mainstem.

• Landcover is 54% urban, 26% agriculture, 12% forested and 9% wetlands, lakes and streams.

• Parts of the creek were rated as “B” and “D” quality by the IEPA/IDNR.

• Poplar Creek had the lowest average level of nitrate of all the creeks we sampled.

• Riverwatch data ranks this stream as “good”.

• Friends of Fox River’s data shows creek is “fair-to-good” at 3 different monitoring sites.

• The Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission is currently working with local stakeholders on a watershed plan designed to identify actions needed to protect natural resources within the watershed

Grade “B”

• Watershed covers 40.5 square miles with 18 stream miles.

• Landcover is 69% agriculture, 18% urban, 7% forested and 6% wetlands, lakes and streams.

• IEPA/IDNR data ranked the creek as a “B” quality stream in the 1996 Fox River Basin Survey.

• Tyler Creek had the highest average levels of nitrate of all the creeks we sampled.

• Riverwatch data shows creek is “good-to-very-good” at 5 different monitoring sites

• Friends of Fox River data shows creek is “poor-to-good” at 7 different sites.

• Gilberts has had a new sewage treatment plant discharge to creek since Winter 2002. Moderate levels of nutrients have been measured in its effluent.

• Development proposals by City of Elgin and the villages of Gilberts and Pingree Grove will bring thousands of new homes to the upper reaches of the watershed in the coming years.

Ferson Creek (part of the Ferson Creek/Otter Creek watershed)

Grade “A-”

• Watershed covers 54.5 square miles with 32 miles of stream. (Ferson Creek is 15 miles long; its tributary Otter Creek is 7 miles long.)

• Landcover is 55% agriculture, 29% urbanized, 11% forested and 5% wetlands, lakes and streams.

• IEPA/IDNR data ranked the creek as a “B” quality stream in the 1996 Fox River Basin Survey.

• Riverwatch data rates the creek as “good”.

• Friends of Fox River’s data shows the creek is ”poor-to-good” at 7 different sites.

• The St. Charles Park District’s wetland restoration at Otter Creek Bend Park is a model system for wetland remediation and management.

Mill Creek

Grade “B”

• Watershed covers 31 square miles. The creek is 16 miles long.

• Landcover is 61% agriculture, 29% urbanized, 6% forested and 4% wetlands, lakes and streams.

• No IEPA sampling has been done on this creek in recent years.

• Our group found higher average levels of nutrients (both phosphates and nitrates) in this creek than in the other tributaries.

• One Friends of the Fox River sampling at Les Arends Forest Preserve found an “excellent” mixture of aquatic organisms.

• The City of St. Charles discharges treated wastewater to Mill Creek, and the Wasco Sanitary District uses its wastewater for irrigation within the watershed.

• Campton Township residents have approved an $18 million referendum for open space acquisition that will positively impact this watershed.

• This watershed is presently being urbanized at an accelerated rate.

Blackberry Creek

Grade “B-“

• Watershed covers 73 square miles. The creek is 32 miles long.

• Landcover is 74% agriculture, 15% urbanized, 6% forested and 5% wetlands, lakes and streams.

• IEPA/IDNR data ranked the creek as a “C” quality stream in the 1996 Fox River Basin Survey.

• Riverwatch data shows creek is “good-to-very good” at 5 different monitoring sites.

• Friends of Fox River data shows creek is “poor-to-fair” at one site monitored twice in 2002.

• The Blackberry Creek Watershed Plan Implementation Council’s Alternatives Future Project has shown that future development in the watershed following conservation rather than conventional design principles will reduce needs for stormwater detention, decrease streambank erosion and increase groundwater recharge. Download the report.

Waubonsee Creek

Grade “B+”

• Watershed covers 30 square miles. The creek is 11 miles long.

• Landcover is 57% agriculture, 36% urbanized, 3% forested and 4% wetlands, lakes and streams.

• No IEPA sampling has been done on this creek in recent years.

• Waubonsee Creek has the lowest average phosphate level of all the creeks we sampled.

• Riverwatch data shows creek is fair-good with Friends of the Fox data rating it “fair-to-excellent”.

• The Stonegate and Lower Pfund dams have been removed from the creek.

• The Waubonsie Creek Committee has been active in the watershed since the July 1996 flood with the Fox Valley Park District and Oswegoland Park District as major stakeholders.

Norton Creek

Grade “B+”

• Watershed covers 11.6 square miles and is part of the Middle Fox River subbasin covering 133 square miles. Norton Creek is 5.3 miles long.

• Landcover in the Middle Fox River subbasin is 44% urbanized, 36% agriculture, 13% forested and 7% wetlands, lakes and streams.

• Norton Creek had low levels of all pollutants we sampled.

• Riverwatch sampling of the creek at one site for the past 6 years show a gradual improvement in the quality of the creek from “fair” to “good”.

• Much of the watershed is forest preserve land, with the creek originating in DuPage County’s Pratt Wayne Woods Forest Preserve and its confluence with the Fox River at Kane County’s Fox River Bluffs Forest Preserve.

Indian Creek

Grade “A-“

• The creek is 9 miles long. Its watershed encompasses 16.7 square miles.

• Landcover is 55% agriculture, 29% urbanized, 11% forested and 5% wetlands, lakes and streams.

• No IEPA sampling has been done on this creek in recent years.

• Indian Creek arises in waters at Fermi Lab and joins the Fox River in downtown Aurora.

• Severe flooding in the 1980’s caused the formation of the North East Neighbors, a citizen group that participated in a 20 year $7-8 million project that created a very large overflow pond east of Farnsworth Ave.

• In 2003 the Prime Outlet Mall in Aurora remeandered the creek, changing the adjoining wetland from a shady marsh to a sunny open area.

• Extensive new development with a high proportion of commercial and industrial uses within the watershed in City of Aurora could impact the quality of the creek in the future.

Mahonney (Mahonne) Creek

Grade “C+”

• Watershed is part of the Middle Fox River subbasin covering 133 square miles. Mahonney Creek is 4 miles long and has a watershed area of 2.1 square miles.

• Landcover in the Middle Fox River subbasin is 44% urbanized, 36% agriculture, 13% forested and 7% wetlands, lakes and streams.

• No IEPA sampling has been done on this creek in recent years.

• Most turbid of all streams sampled by our group.

• This creek drains a highly urbanized area. The upper reaches of this stream have been prone to flooding. Flood control projects are planned by the City of Batavia.

White's Creek

Grade “B-“

• Watershed is part of the Middle Fox River subbasin covering 133 square miles. White Creek is the smallest creek we studied, only 1.3 miles long and covering a watershed of only 1.7 square miles.

• Landcover in the Middle Fox River subbasin is 44% urbanized, 36% agriculture, 13% forested and 7% wetlands, lakes and streams.

• No IEPA sampling has been done on this creek in recent years.

• The creek starts at Settler’s Hill landfill and traverses the Settler’s Hill golf course and Fabyan Forest Preserve.

Brewster Creek

Grade “B”

• Watershed covers 17.4 square miles and is part of the Middle Fox River subbasin covering 133 square miles. Brewster Creek is 6.8 miles long.

• Landcover in the Middle Fox River subbasin is 44% urbanized, 36% agriculture, 13% forested and 7% wetlands, lakes and streams.

• Parts of the creek were rated as “B” and “C” quality by the IEPA/IDNR.

• Over the past year, the dam on the creek at YWCA Camp Tu-Endie-Wai was removed. Click here for detailed information on the removal process. The dam’s removal will allow for improved fish passage with hopes for resulting improvement in the biodiversity throughout the creek.

• A 50 acre wetland restoration at DuPage County’s Pratt Wayne Woods Forest Preserve Brewster Creek area is underway.

• The creek traverses the new Tri-County State Park.