Environmental groups, Illinois EPA to look at ways to improve Des Plaines River water

JOLIET – It wouldn’t be wise to go swimming or consume fish from the Des Plaines River.

Illinois Environmental Protection Agency water quality test data show that various chemicals and bacteria are in the water, particularly in the stretch from Romeoville to the river’s confluence with the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal just north of Joliet.

IEPA water quality tests from 2016 show that aldrin, arsenic, chloride, methoxychlor, phosphorus, mercury, polychlorinated biphenyls and fecal coliform flow in that part of the river.

The IEPA considers that section of the river as one that is not supporting aquatic life, not supporting fish consumption and not supporting primary contact – or skin-in-the-water recreation.

Manufacturing and industrial discharge plays a much larger role in the chemistry of the Des Plaines River water than it does in, say, the DuPage River, said Lower DuPage River Watershed Coalition communications manager Tara Neff.

That’s because of the sheer amount of industrial sites that are near, or next to, the Des Plaines in Will County. A newly formed Lower Des Plaines Watershed Coalition is expected to look into how changes in discharge and river management could improve water quality.

“That needs to be looked at,” Neff said, adding that the IEPA will have to consider placing more stringent nutrient discharge limits on manufacturers and industrial sites near the Des Plaines.

Although the IEPA data is not new, more organized efforts to improve the Lower Des Plaines River and river water throughout Illinois are kicking off after years of litigation.

In January, the Prairie Rivers Network, in partnership with the Illinois Sierra Club and Natural Resources Defense Council, reached a settlement with the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago to reduce algae pollution in Illinois’ rivers.

The agreement requires the parties to work together to curb phosphorous discharges from industrial plants that are fueling algal blooms and lowering water quality, a news release from the Prairie Rivers Network stated.

MWRD agreed to upgrade pollution controls at its largest wastewater plants by 2030. The parties are forming a joint committee to hire scientists and engineers to identify problematic places in the Chicago River system and come up with a plan to eliminate algal and plant problems.

The Des Plaines River watershed begins in southern Wisconsin and travels south through countless developed suburban municipalities before it reaches the Joliet area.

Locally, part of the settlement requires the MWRD to conduct water quality monitoring in the Lower Des Plaines River near Joliet, where the worst algae problems are most evident, the release stated.

The information from the monitoring will be vital to developing Clean Water Act permit limits, according to the Prairie Rivers Network.

The Lower Des Plaines River Watershed Coalition is in the beginning stages. Neff said the group, which will be similar to the DuPage River one she represents, is trying to build relationships with wastewater treatment plants in the watershed of the lower part of the Des Plaines River, which goes through Will County.

“They’re looking to develop some kind of comprehensive management plan for the Lower Des Plaines River as early as 2018,” Neff said.

The Des Plaines River seems to improve in quality as it goes through downtown Joliet, with that section testing positive for fewer chemicals, according to the data. But that stretch, all the way to the Brandon Road Lock and Dam near Rockdale, does not support fish consumption or indigenous aquatic life, either.

The Illinois Department of Public Health advises that carp – a species of fish – longer than 18 inches should not be consumed if caught in the Des Plaines River between Lockport and the Kankakee River in Channahon. Catfish and freshwater drum from that stretch should not be consumed more than once a month, the IDPH says.

Efforts to reach representatives from the IEPA and Prairie Rivers Network were unsuccessful.