Publications

Acoustic technologies have the potential to be used as a surrogate for measuring suspended-sediment concentration (SSC). This potential was examined in a fine-grained (97-100 percent fines) riverine system in central Illinois by way of installation of an acoustic instrument. Acoustic data were collected continuously over the span of 5.5 years. Acoustic parameters were regressed against SSC data to

In December 2009, during a piscicide treatment targeting the invasive Asian carp in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, Rhodamine WT dye was released to track and document the transport and dispersion of the piscicide. In this study, two modeling approaches are presented to reproduce the advection and dispersion of the dye tracer (and piscicide), a one-dimensional analytical solution and a three-

An occurrence survey was conducted on selected pathogens in source and treated drinking water collected from 25 drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs) in the United States. Water samples were analyzed for the protozoa Giardia and Cryptosporidium (EPA Method 1623); the fungi Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus terreus (quantitative PCR [qPCR]); and the bacteria Legionella pneu

Phosphorus data were collected from the Kent Park Lake watershed in Johnson County, Iowa, in 2014 and 2015 to obtain information to assist in the management of the water quality in the lake. Phosphorus concentrations were measured for sediment from several ponds in the watershed and sediment deposited in the lake. The first set of samples was collected in 2014 to understand phosphorus in several p

The effects of urbanization on annual maximum peak discharges in northeastern Illinois and nearby areas from 1945 to 2009 were analyzed with a two-step longitudinal-quantile linear regression approach. The peak discharges were then adjusted to 2010 land-use conditions. The explanatory variables used were daily precipitation at the time of the peak discharge event and a housing density-based measur

This report provides two sets of equations for estimating peak discharge quantiles at annual exceedance probabilities (AEPs) of 0.50, 0.20, 0.10, 0.04, 0.02, 0.01, 0.005, and 0.002 (recurrence intervals of 2, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, 200, and 500 years, respectively) for watersheds in Illinois based on annual maximum peak discharge data from 117 watersheds in and near northeastern Illinois. One set of

Bathymetric and velocimetric data were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Missouri Department of Transportation, near 8 bridges at 7 highway crossings of the Missouri River in Kansas City, Missouri, from June 2 to 4, 2015. A multibeam echosounder mapping system was used to obtain channel-bed elevations for river reaches ranging from 1,640 to 1,660 feet longitudinally

Groundwater-quality data were collected from 748 wells as part of the National Water-Quality Assessment Project of the U.S. Geological Survey National Water-Quality Program from May 2012 through December 2013. The data were collected from four types of well networks: principal aquifer study networks, which assess the quality of groundwater used for public water supply; land-use study networks, whi

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) has closed or posted advisories at public beaches at Lake of the Ozarks State Park in Missouri because of Escherichia coli (E. coli) concentration exceedances in recent years. Spatial and temporal patterns of E. coliconcentrations, microbial source tracking, novel sampling techniques, and beach-use patterns were studied during the 2012 recreation

Compound meander bends with multiple lobes of maximum curvature are common in actively evolving lowland rivers. Interaction among spatial patterns of mean flow, turbulence, bed morphology, bank failures and channel migration in compound bends is poorly understood. In this paper, acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) measurements of the three-dimensional (3D) flow velocities in a compound bend a

Precipitation patterns and nutrient inputs affect transport of nitrate (NO3-N) and phosphorus (TP) from Midwest watersheds. Nutrient concentrations and yields from two subsurface-drained watersheds, the Little Cobb River (LCR) in southern Minnesota and the South Fork Iowa River (SFIR) in northern Iowa, were evaluated during 1996–2007 to document relative differences in timings and amounts of nutri

The Chicago Department of Transportation’s Sustainable Streetscapes Program is an innovative program that strives to convert Chicago’s neighborhood commercial areas, riverwalks, and bicycle facilities into active, attractive places for Chicagoans to live, work, and play. The objective of each project is to create flourishing public places while improving the ability of infrastructure to support de