2005 Year in Review

Illinois Water Quality Gets Passing Grade

Did you ever have a teacher tell you, "You're doing pretty well, but you could do better..."?

That's what Bob Frazee, a natural resources educator with University of Illinois Extension, has to say about the efforts to improve water quality in the state of Illinois.

When asked to grade the state's progress in improving water quality, Frazee said, "I'd probably give it a 'B' rating. Illinois is ahead of the average, but there's still a lot that needs to be done, and that's why I wouldn't give it an 'A'."

Frazee cites the most recent Illinois Environmental Protection Agency water quality report to support his evaluation.

The Illinois EPA has monitored the water quality of the state's streams and lakes since 1972. Four primary criteria are used to measure quality, including drinkability, fishability, swimability and the ability to support aquatic habitat. Full support of those criteria earns a 'good' rating, partial support is considered 'fair,' and a 'poor' rating indicates non-support.

In 1972, 11 percent of the stream miles in Illinois were categorized as poor, 54 percent were fair and 35 percent were good. Today, only 3 percent are considered poor, 35 percent are fair and 62 percent are considered good.

In 1972, the water quality of 28 percent of inland lake acreage was considered poor, 54 percent was fair, and 18 percent was rated good. Today, poor lake acreage has dropped to 5 percent, fair has risen to 77 percent and good acreage remains constant at 18 percent.

Those numbers show a marked improvement in water quality over the last 30 years. But as Frazee said, there is still room for improvement. And because agriculture has been identified as a major source of contamination for the state's streams and lakes, Frazee believes the state's farmers have a small window of opportunity to have a large effect on water quality.

That opportunity can best be realized by the voluntary adoption of best management practices (BMP's) to control soil erosion, said Frazee. The same BMP's that have been shown to control soil erosion also improve water quality.

BMP's can be grouped into three major categories:
- Conservation Tillage (No-till, strip-till and mulch-till systems)
- Conservation Structures (Terraces, grassed waterways, streambank installations, grade control structures, and water and sediment control basins)
- Conservation Practices (Contouring, crop rotations, cover crops, buffer strips, riparian corridors, wetlands and precision farming)

Most of the state's farm associations are strongly encouraging farmers to adopt these BMP's, advising them that many of these practices can increase a farmer's profits, and cautioning that voluntary implementation now could forestall increased government regulations later.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, said Frazee, "We all know it's the right and socially responsible thing to do."

by  Editor, theCity1.com
March 14, 2005