Welcome to the Illinois Office of Water Resources

CURRENT EVENTS

Sept 22, 2011 Target Hunger Now! kicks off. “Target Hunger Now!” works with sportsmen and meat processors to provide donated venison, and fish from commercial fishermen and processors to the Illinois food bank network to put healthy meals on the tables of struggling Illinois families.

Two repair projects are underway on the Mississippi River levee in Alexander County, designed to help protect Cairo from future flooding. Historic flooding this spring and intense pressure from the swollen Ohio and Mississippi Rivers forced water underneath the berms, creating sand boils in the streets of Cairo. Concerns about the levee and the flood risk eventually forced the city to evacuate.

Lake Michigan Water Allocation Newsletter, 2011 Edition

The Marge Cline Whitewater Course at Yorkville is now open to the public free of charge; however, temporary closures may occur due to pending Phase 3 pedestrian bridge construction across the course yet this year, and as yet unscheduled necessary repairs. Contact the city of Yorkville for information related to course closures.

The Stratton Dam Winter Drawdown Report 2011 is available. The annual closure of the William G. Stratton-Thomas A. Bolger Lock and Dam will reopen May 1. Every year, the IDNR lowers the water level by 18 inches in anticipation of rising water from the large snow melts and rains of spring and is used to reduce the possibility of ice jams flooding. The annual winter drawdown traditionally takes place from Nov. 1 to Dec. 1 gradually over a month to prevent erosion.

SAFETY AT DAMS

Governor Pat Quinn, then Lieutenant Governor, launched the Illinois Dam Safety Initiative in June 2006 to educate the public about dam safety, and propose much needed changes to make our waterways safer. Since then, progress has been made on safety measures, including the passage of legislation calling for standards of signs, buoys and other ways to communicate risks to the public about the dams on public waterways.

The Office is engaged in studying, renovating or removing unsafe dams such as the Glen Palmer Dam at Yorkville, IL and the Vermilion Cement Plant Dam at Oglesby.

Sediment Sampling is complete at Danville Dam and analysis under way.

100% of plans and specs are complete for Hofmann Dam.

ASIAN CARP

Sept 22, 2011 : Target Hunger Now! kicks off. “Target Hunger Now!” works with sportsmen and meat processors to provide donated venison, and fish from commercial fishermen and processors to the Illinois food bank network to put healthy meals on the tables of struggling Illinois families.

July 13, 2010 : “Protecting the Great Lakes is vital to millions of people from Illinois and throughout the Midwest who rely on these waterways for their livelihoods,” said Governor Quinn. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources, in conjunction with the Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee (ACRCC), has established a Framework intended to keep Asian carp from establishing populations in the Great Lakes. These measures include: Operations to reduce propagule pressure on barriers, Increased fish collection efforts and population suppression, Evaluation of current suppression tools, as well as future fish suppression activities, Emergency measures to prevent bypass of fish between the Des Plaines River and the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, as well as between the Illinois & Michigan Canal and the CSSC during flood events, Increased biological control efforts, and Construction of a third electric barrier.

To learn more about the efforts of the ACRCC, visit www.asiancarp.us.

PERMITS & FLOODPLAINS

The Office issues permits for work in and along the rivers, lakes and streams of the state, including Lake Michigan, for activities in and along the public waters, and for the construction and maintenance of dams.

The Office also provides assistance to help local officials with floodplain management needs. This includes administration of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), working with FEMA to prepare floodplain maps, and coordinating flood mitigation and flood protection programs.

View the status of a permit application, or download an application package.

Obtain assistance from the Office Water Resources on the NFIP, local floodplain ordinances or mitigation programs.

In April and May of 2011, extensive rain caused flooding in many IL counties along the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers. The City of Cairo became endangered, leading to the flooding of Bird's Point Levee in Missouri. On May 10, 2011 Governor Quinn declared 21 counties State Disaster Areas. President Obama declared 14 Illinois Counties Federal Disaster areas. Alexander, Franklin, Gallatin, Hardin, Jackson, Lawrence, Massac, Perry, Pope, Pulaski, Randolph, Saline, White and Williamson counties. Federal assistance has been approved for local governments in Marion, Jefferson, Washington, and Wayne Counties and 17 others in Southern Illinois.

State and local governments in the 21 counties estimated costs at more than 20-million dollars. Locally, $149,000 is being sought in reimbursement for Marion County, $144,000 in Jefferson County, $136,000 in Wayne County and $74,500 in Washington County.

The Office assesses risks to critical infrastructure, such as levees and dams, and informs the emergency response team on river forecasts.

Current Flooding Map

River Stage Websites

STRATTON LOCK AND DAM

William G. Stratton Lock and Dam in McHenry resumed full-time daily operations for the 2011 boating season on May 1. IDNR lock tenders will operate the lock seven days a week, from 8 a.m. to midnight until September 30.

The Multi-Purpose Dam Project - Phase 2 - Canoe and Fish Bypass Channel at the Glen Palmer Dam in Yorkville is still under construction. The phase 2 contractor is to complete construction by September 30, 2011. The Phase 3 Contractor will be building a single span pedestrian bridge allowing access to the divider island with a completion date set for December 30, 2011.

Yorkville Bypass Video.

The Vermilion Cement Plant Dam at Oglesby is undergoing modifications. Concrete blocks are being placed below the dam to greatly improve public safety. Signage and buoys are in place and additional plans are being developed for a permanent solution.

• Bluffs Flood Control - construction expected over the summer,
• Crystal Creek Phase II - construction continuing,
• Fox Waterway Agency - Coopers Farm - under construction,
• Mattoon is under construction.
• Rand Park - construction to be completed by June 30, 2011
• Yorkville Phase II - contract has been extended to September 30 of 2011 for repairs
• Vermilion River Dam, Danville - sediment analysis underway with U.S.G.S.
• Vermilion River Dam, Buzzi Unicem USA - Construction is complete, and State constructed signage and warning devices have been installed.

ABOUT THE OFFICE

First formed in 1823, the Office of Water Resources has a long history beginning with flood control and navigation issues that later grew to include regulation of streams and rivers, locks and dams, construction issues, water conservation, the National Flood Insurance Program and more.

The primary capital activity of the office is in the area of urban flood damage reduction. The office assists units of local government with urban flood damage reduction projects through planning, design, construction, and financial assistance. The urban program also features the acquisition of flood prone homes and businesses.

The Division of Resource Management administers regulatory programs over construction in the floodways of rivers, lakes, and streams; construction in the shorewaters of Lake Michigan; construction and operation of dams; construction in public bodies of water; diversion of water from Lake Michigan; and withdrawal of water from Lake Shelbyville, Carlyle Lake, and Rend Lake. Resource Management inspects dams, gives permits, coordinates the National Flood Insurance Program and regulates floodplains.

The Office produces engineering reports, guides for floodproofing and floodplain management, as well as GIS products.

The Office's GIS products include maps of the State and Flood related mapping when needed.

The 2010 Lake Michigan Water Allocation Water Rate Surveys are now available online.

Send us your questions, comments, flooding pictures and videos. We will try to respond in a timely manner whenever possible!

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