Water is abundant in central Illinois, so we think about
it frequently. We appreciate the fact
that it is plentiful, unless it is flooding our basements, overflowing the
banks of the Illinois River or its tributaries, or surfacing through the ground
due to a water main break. We enjoy boating in it, catching fish from it,
swimming through it (even polar dives), ice skating on it, enjoying a cool
glass of it, and are pleased it can be used to transport products efficiently
to and from our area. Since water makes up nearly 70% of our body weight, 80%
of our brain tissue, and 71% of our Earth’s surface (only 3.5% of that is
freshwater), it is important that we keep water at the top of our mind.
The subject of water quality has gained significant
attention recently – both nationally and locally – which reminds us not to take
this natural resource for granted.
Water Quality Failure Example
The Flint, Michigan water quality issue involving
elevated lead levels in their drinking water certainly raised our awareness of
potential water quality issues that could impact our health. With improved treatment
technologies and high-tech water sampling and analysis techniques, we would
think these types of danger would be limited to our history books. Numerous
regulations have been instituted to protect both our drinking and surface
waters, but there are still opportunities where these safeguards can fail, as
is the case with Flint’s water system.
After more than a year of following the warning signs of
the Flint water crisis, it has been determined by some independent sources where
the failures occurred. The problem was apparently two-fold with the first
failure being a change in the City’s water supply source from Lake Huron to
Flint River. The corrosive treated river water was without an optimized
corrosion control plan, and ate away at the lead service lines and other lead
containing appurtenances within the water system. The second issue, and the one
that prevented the problem from being detected earlier, was the state’s Department
of Environmental Quality’s lack of sufficient sample collection and analysis,
plus disposing of samples whose inclusion would have put the system at the
“actionable level” for lead. The result of these failures has been a crisis for
Flint residents that have been drinking the water with elevated levels of lead
for over a year. The City has converted back to using Lake Huron for their
water supply, but it will take some time for the corrosion control chemicals to
restore the protective pipe coating to prevent further leaching of the lead.
Drinking water sources in Illinois come from both surface
water and groundwater, with 70% of the state’s population served by surface
water. Most of central Illinois is served by groundwater wells. The cities of
Springfield and Bloomington use surface water, and Illinois American Peoria
District utilizes both surface and well water for their supply, including an
Illinois River intake and three groundwater well sites.
Surface Water Conditions
In 1972, the Clean Water Act was passed by Congress with
the intent “to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological
integrity of the nation’s waters.” In general, within the freshwater lakes of
the nation, nothing has changed since the adoption of the Act, indicating
conditions are not improved to support fishable and swimmable lakes uniformly
throughout the U.S. as mandated by the Act. On the positive side, the water
quality has not gotten worse, possibly indicating the legislation has prevented
further deterioration of the freshwater lake quality.
In February 2016, the Illinois Protection Agency (IEPA) Bureau
of Water released its report on surface water quality within the state. Of the
119,244 stream miles in Illinois, they assessed 18,044 miles for at least one
of six uses including aquatic life, fish consumption, primary contact,
secondary contact, indigenous aquatic life, and public and food processing
water supply. The full report is available on IEPA’s website, but here are a
couple of their findings. First, 50.4% of the stream miles assessed were rated
poor for supporting primary contact activities such as swimming or other uses
where there is prolonged contact with the water, with 16.8% rated good. Another
important assessment factor is the ability for the stream water to support
aquatic life, and 57.8% of the stream miles assessed in 2016 were rated good
and only 4.9% with a poor rating. The IEPA reports that the assessed stream
miles rated good for supporting aquatic live has improved from 34.7% in 1972 to
57.8% in 2016. Even better results were recorded in the lakes in the state,
with 17.8% rated good in 1972 and 90.9% in 2016.
With surface waters being used for many activities,
including a source for some drinking water supplies, this improvement in
quality is something to be celebrated. While all reports indicate more
improvements are needed, at least the results being reported are mostly
positive.
Groundwater
Conditions
Groundwater is a primary source of drinking water for
most communities in central Illinois, so preserving it is important to all of
us. Many of the wells in central Illinois are sand and gravel aquifer wells,
with some groundwater supplies having their source from deep bedrock aquifers. In
an IEPA Bureau of Water Report dated February 2016, the latest count of
groundwater-dependent public water supplies is 5,200, with 1,150 of them being
community water supplies. According to the Illinois Department of Public Health
(IDPH), there are an additional 400,000 residences in the state that rely on
private groundwater wells for their potable water.
Groundwater quality throughout the state has been
monitored for many years and the State of Illinois evaluates these results closely
to protect groundwater supplies. Public water supplies continue to monitor
their supply and treated water on a strict schedule, enabling them to detect
variances in the water quality quickly to prevent major quality concerns. When
variances occur, which are typically minor in a groundwater supply, adjustments
can usually be made to the treatment system to provide water to their customers
that meet state water quality requirements. Community and private water well
systems, according to IEPA, are the most vulnerable to contaminants and other
water quality issues.
Industrial, agricultural, and commercial activities and
the use of pesticides, road salts, plastics, adhesives, paints, gasoline, etc.
can produce contaminants harmful to groundwater. Monitoring is required for
these potential contaminants, including nitrates, chlorides, SOCs, and VOCs to
assure a safe water is provided to water customer. Lead monitoring in the
distribution system is also required and many systems are utilizing an optimized
corrosion control plan to prevent lead leaching from any lead service lines or
other lead in the water system appurtenances due to corrosive source waters.
Public water systems within the State of Illinois are operated
by licensed operators who take their responsibility of providing safe potable
water to their customers seriously. So, if you detect a change in your potable
water quality, reach out to them and make them aware of your concerns. Teaming
with your water professionals in this manner can reassure you and help the
operators be aware of potential problems.
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