The Fox River Study Group (FRSG) is funding a water quality study this summer upstream of the dam in Carpentersville. The white floats with blue stripes are part of a program to document river water and biological quality prior to the scheduled removal of the Carpenter Dam in 2021. Please avoid and do not disturb the buoys. Readings are being taken of the levels of oxygen, algae, salts, and nutrients in the river as well as the river water's temperature and pH. The study runs through October of this year and will be repeated after the dam is removed to document changes in river conditions.
Another study is underway downstream of the Stratton Dam in McHenry. At that location USGS is conducting the study for the FRSG, and the data are reported continuously online. This study began in 2018 and is collecting data during the six-month growing season through 2021. The aim of the USGS study is to understand the quality of the water at the upstream boundary of the length of the river which the Fox River Study Group is studying. The group's study area runs from below the Stratton Dam to the mouth of the Fox River in Ottawa. View the USGS data to get a sense of the data being collected at both study sites.