The Fox River Study Group (FRSG) is a
diverse coalition of stakeholders working
together to assess water quality in the Fox
River watershed. Participants include Friends
of the Fox River, Sierra Club, Fox River Water
Reclamation District (Elgin), Fox Metro Water
Reclamation District (Aurora), Fox River
Ecosystem Partnership, Illinois Environmental
Protection Agency (IEPA) and Blackberry Creek
Watershed Plan Implementation Council as well as
representatives from Algonquin, Aurora, Batavia,
Crystal Lake, Elgin, Geneva, Island Lake, Kane
County, Lake in the Hills, St. Charles and
Yorkville.
The FRSG began meeting in the summer of 2001 to
plan how to prepare for the upcoming Total
Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) study on the river. A
TMDL study is required by federal law because
three segments of the Fox River appeared on the
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency's list
of impaired waters (the 1998 303(d) list).
These segments, which lie between Holiday Hills
and North Aurora, were listed because results
from at least one water sample suggest there are
water quality concerns. The most common
concerns include low dissolved oxygen levels or
high concentrations of fecal coliform bacteria.
The 303(d) listing was updated in 2002, and now
includes the entire length of the Fox River from
the Wisconsin state line to the river’s mouth at
Ottawa with the most numerous causes listed as
flow alteration, habitat alteration, low
dissolved oxygen, nutrients, organic enrichment,
PCBs, siltation or suspended solids.
Although the emphasis in the original meetings
was on monitoring water quality, it soon became
clear that the FRSG presented a unique
opportunity to foster sustainable growth
throughout the watershed. To guide those
efforts, the FRSG reached a consensus on the
following work plan. |
| The Work Plan |
| The work plan is made up of four phases.
Brief descriptions of the objectives of each
phase, the schedule, and estimated costs are
given in the table below. Phase I work is being
conducted by the Illinois State Water Survey and
funded by the IEPA. Part of the Phase II effort
also began in April 2002 when the FRSG water
quality monitoring program started collecting
samples at seven sites along the Fox River.
This program, an all-volunteer effort organized
by the Fox River and Fox Metro water reclamation
districts, was carefully designed to satisfy
rigorous data quality requirements of the IEPA.
Results from this program will be combined with
results from Phase I to identify times and
locations where additional information is
needed. Those data, especially information
describing how the watershed responds to storm
events, will be used in Phase III to calibrate a
model of the Fox River watershed. |
The fourth and final phase of the work plan
is to implement and maintain the watershed model
as a management tool. The model will be used
to:
• Ensure efficient use of taxpayer and
private moneys on watershed projects • Assess
the effect of various development options
throughout the watershed • Educate
stakeholders
• Evaluate management priorities
• Identify sensitive regions within the
watershed
• Develop effective continuing monitoring
programs |
| |
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| Board of Directors |
Cindy
Skrukrud, Chair
Sierra Club
Bob Trueblood,
Vice Chair
Fox River Water Reclamation District
Elgin
Kyla Jacobsen,
Secretary
City of Elgin
Elgin
Tom Muth,
Treasurer
Fox Metro Water Reclamation District
Oswego
Byron
Ritchason, Assistant Secretary
City of Batavia
Tri-Cities-Batavia,
Geneva, St. Charles
Ken Anderson
Kane County Dept. of
Environmental Management
Kane County
Eric Schoeny
City of Aurora
Aurora
Rob Linke
Friends of the Fox River
Candice Jacobs
Fox River
Ecosystem Partnership
NOTE:
entity being represented in italics |
For
additional information about Fox River Study
Group contact:
Cindy Skrukrud 815-675-2594
 |
| |
Mailing
Address:
Fox River Study Group, Inc.
P.O. Box 71 Oswego, IL 60543 |
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FOX RIVER WATERSHED MAP
Wisconsin & Illinois |
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FRSG/ISWS Monitoring QAPP |
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