Central Midwest Water Science Center
Publications
These publications are written or co-authored by Central Midwest Water Science Center personnel in conjuction with their work at the USGS and other government agencies. They include USGS reports, journal articles, conference proceedings, and published abstracts that are available in the USGS Publications Warehouse.
Hydrogeologic framework of LaSalle County, Illinois
Water-supply needs in LaSalle County in northern Illinois are met by surface water and groundwater. Water-supply needs are expected to increase to serve future residential and mining uses. Available information on water use, geology, surface-water and groundwater hydrology, and water quality provides a hydrogeologic framework for LaSalle County...
Kay, Robert T.; Bailey, Clinton R.
The effect of restored and native oxbows on hydraulic loads of nutrients and stream water quality
The use of oxbow wetlands has been identified as a potential strategy to reduce nutrient transport from agricultural drainage tiles to streams in Iowa. In 2013 and 2014, a study was conducted in north-central Iowa in a native oxbow in the Lyons Creek watershed and two restored oxbow wetlands in the Prairie Creek watershed (Smeltzer west and...
Kalkhoff, Stephen J.; Hubbard, Laura E.; Joseph P.Schubauer-Berigan
Water pressure and ground vibrations induced by water guns at a backwater pond on the Illinois River near Morris, Illinois
Three different geophysical sensor types were used to characterize the underwater pressure waves and ground velocities generated by the underwater firing of seismic water guns. These studies evaluated the use of water guns as a tool to alter the movement of Asian carp. Asian carp are aquatic invasive species that threaten to move into the Great...
Koebel, Carolyn M.; Egly, Rachel M.
Methods for estimating selected spring and fall low-flow frequency statistics for ungaged stream sites in Iowa, based on data through June 2014
A statewide study was led to develop regression equations for estimating three selected spring and three selected fall low-flow frequency statistics for ungaged stream sites in Iowa. The estimation equations developed for the six low-flow frequency statistics include spring (April through June) 1-, 7-, and 30-day mean low flows for a recurrence...
Eash, David A.; Barnes, Kimberlee K.; O'Shea, Padraic S.
Examination of flood characteristics at selected streamgages in the Meramec River Basin, eastern Missouri, December 2015–January 2016
OverviewHeavy rainfall resulted in major flooding in the Meramec River Basin in eastern Missouri during late December 2015 through early January 2016. Cumulative rainfall from December 14 to 29, 2015, ranged from 7.6 to 12.3 inches at selected precipitation stations in the basin with flooding driven by the heaviest precipitation (3.9–9.7 inches)...
Holmes, Robert R.; Koenig, Todd A.; Rydlund, Jr., Paul H.; Heimann, David C.
Generalized sediment budgets of the Lower Missouri River, 1968–2014
Sediment budgets of the Lower Missouri River were developed in a study led by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The scope of the study included the development of a long-term (post-impoundment, 1968–2014) average annual sediment budget and selected annual, monthly, and daily sediment budgets for a...
Heimann, David C. Entrainment, retention, and transport of freely swimming fish in junction gaps between commercial barges operating on the Illinois Waterway
Large Electric Dispersal Barriers were constructed in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal (CSSC) to prevent the transfer of invasive fish species between the Mississippi River Basin and the Great Lakes Basin while simultaneously allowing the passage of commercial barge traffic. We investigated the potential for entrainment, retention, and...
Davis, Jeremiah J.; Jackson, P. Ryan; Engel, Frank L.; LeRoy, Jessica Z.; Neeley, Rebecca N.; Finney, Samuel T.; Murphy, Elizabeth A. Seiche-induced unsteady flows in the Huron-Erie Corridor: Spectral analysis of oscillations in stage and discharge in the St. Clair and Detroit Rivers
Animations of highly dynamic water-surface profiles through the St. Clair and Detroit Rivers have identified transient disturbances propagating from Lakes Huron and Erie into the St. Clair and Detroit Rivers, respectively. To determine any relation to seiche and tidal oscillations on Lakes Huron and Erie, a spectral analysis was performed on...
Contantinescu, G.; Garcia, M.; Hanes, D.; Jackson, P. Ryan Three-dimensional numerical modeling of mixing at the junction of the Calumet-Sag Channel and the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal: A comparison between density-driven and advection-driven mixing
The Chicago Area Waterway System (CAWS) includes the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal (CSSC) and the Calumet-Sag Channel (Cal-Sag), the two primary, man-made connections between the Mississippi River Basin and the Great Lakes. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) monitors diversion of Great Lakes water at a streamgage just downstream of the confluence...
Constantinescu, George; Garcia, Marcelo H.; Hanes, Dan; Wang, Dongchen; Dudda, Som; Jackson, P. Ryan; Garcia, Marcelo H.
Groundwater quality at the Saline Valley Conservancy District well field, Gallatin County, Illinois
The Saline Valley Conservancy District (SVCD) operates wells that supply water to most of the water users in Saline and Gallatin Counties, Illinois. The SVCD wells draw water from a shallow sand and gravel aquifer located in close proximity to an abandoned underground coal mine, several abandoned oil wells, and at least one operational oil well....
Gorczynska, Magdalena; Kay, Robert T.
Geology, hydrology, water quality, and potential for interbasin invasive-species spread by way of the groundwater pathway near Lemont, Illinois
Invasive species such as Asian carps have the potential to travel in the egg, larval, or fry stages from the Des Plaines River (DPR) to the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal (CSSC) by way of the network of secondary-permeability features in the dolomite aquifer between these water bodies. Such movement would circumvent the electric fish barrier on...
Kay, Robert T.; Mills, P.C.; Jackson, P. Ryan
Estimating suspended sediment using acoustics in a fine-grained riverine system, Kickapoo Creek at Bloomington, Illinois
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....
Manaster, Amanda D.; Domanski, Marian M.; Straub, Timothy D.; Boldt, Justin A.