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Groundwater Monitoring in McHenry County, Illinois

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By Central Midwest Water Science Center July 5, 2023

Groundwater Monitoring in McHenry County, Illinois

McHenry County, Illinois, obtains most of its drinking water from shallow sand and gravel aquifers (groundwater). Water availability and quality are primary concerns for sustaining and protecting this resource. The USGS, in collaboration with McHenry County Planning and Development, have established a network of groundwater monitoring program to monitor water quantity and quality. In 2009-2010, existing monitoring wells owned by Illinois State Geological Survey and newly installed groundwater monitoring wells were equipped with pressure transducers, antennae, and data-collection platforms for transmitting the water level data to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Water Inventory System (NWIS) Web interface (http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis). Water-level data are collected every 15-minutes and transmitted hourly. Over a decade of water level data is now available to understand groundwater level trends and responses to water-use, droughts, and flooding. Water quality is monitored every 10 years at each monitoring well to evaluate ambient changes in water quality.  The specific objectives of the network are to:

  • Determine the groundwater levels in response to periodic dry or wet periods, and major drought or flood events.
  • Determine the groundwater levels in response to water-use and land-use changes.
  • Assess water-quality changes over time in response to climate and land-use changes.

Other Websites and related information. 

Water quality of sand and gravel aquifers in McHenry County, Illinois, 2020 and comparisons to conditions in 2010

McHenry County, Illinois, obtains most of its drinking water from shallow sand and gravel aquifers (groundwater). To evaluate this groundwater resource, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with McHenry County, Illinois, collected water-quality samples from 41 of 42 monitoring wells in the McHenry County Groundwater Monitoring Network and 4 monitoring wells from the U.S. Geological Survey Na
Authors
Amy M. Gahala, Lance R. Gruhn, Jennifer C. Murphy, Lisa A. Matson
By
Central Midwest Water Science Center

Hydrogeology and water quality of sand and gravel aquifers in McHenry County, Illinois, 2009–14, and comparison to conditions in 1979

Baseline conditions for the sand and gravel aquifers (groundwater) in McHenry County, Illinois, were assessed using data from a countywide network of 44 monitoring wells collecting continuous water-level data from 2009–14. In 2010, water-quality data were collected from 41 of the monitoring wells, along with five additional monitoring wells available from the U.S. Geological Survey National Water
Authors
Amy M. Gahala
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Central Midwest Water Science Center

Water quality of Nippersink Creek and Wonder Lake, McHenry County, Illinois, 1994-2001

Wonder Lake, McHenry County, Illinois was formed when an earthen dam was constructed across Nippersink Creek in 1929. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the McHenry County Soil and Water Conservation District, operated two streamflow and water-quality monitoring sites (upstream and downstream of Wonder Lake) from July 1994 through June 1997, and examined the water quality of th
Authors
David H. Dupre, Dale M. Robertson

Suspended-sediment budget, flow distribution, and lake circulation for the Fox Chain of Lakes in Lake and McHenry Counties, Illinois, 1997-99

The Fox Chain of Lakes is a glacial lake system in McHenry and Lake Counties in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin. Sedimentation and nutrient overloading have occurred in the lake system since the first dam was built (1907) in McHenry to raise water levels in the lake system. Using data collected from December 1, 1997, to June 1, 1999, suspended-sediment budgets were constructed for the mos
Authors
David L. Schrader, Robert R. Holmes

Tools for groundwater protection planning: An example from McHenry County, Illinois, USA

This paper presents an approach for producing aquifer sensitivity maps from three-dimensional geologic maps, called stack-unit maps. Stack-unit maps depict the succession of geologic materials to a given depth, and aquifer sensitivity maps interpret the successions according to their ability to transmit potential contaminants. Using McHenry County, Illinois, as a case study, stack-unit maps and an
Authors
R. C. Berg, B. Brandon Curry, R. Olshansky

Water in sand and gravel deposits in McHenry County, Illinois

McHenry County, Illinois derives a major part of its ground-water supply from unconsolidated sand and gravel aquifers. Twenty-six public systems tap these aquifers for all or part of their supply. The county contains two types of sand and gravel aquifers--unconfined aquifers which are at or near the land surface, and semiconfined aquifers which are overlain by one or more till members. A map of wa
Authors
J.R. Nicholas, J. T. Krohelski

McHenry County

Groundwater Monitoring in McHenry County, Illinois

McHenry County, Illinois, obtains most of its drinking water from shallow sand and gravel aquifers (groundwater). Water availability and quality are primary concerns for sustaining and protecting this resource. The USGS, in collaboration with McHenry County Planning and Development, have established a network of groundwater monitoring program to monitor water quantity and quality. In 2009-2010, existing monitoring wells owned by Illinois State Geological Survey and newly installed groundwater monitoring wells were equipped with pressure transducers, antennae, and data-collection platforms for transmitting the water level data to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Water Inventory System (NWIS) Web interface (http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis). Water-level data are collected every 15-minutes and transmitted hourly. Over a decade of water level data is now available to understand groundwater level trends and responses to water-use, droughts, and flooding. Water quality is monitored every 10 years at each monitoring well to evaluate ambient changes in water quality.  The specific objectives of the network are to:

  • Determine the groundwater levels in response to periodic dry or wet periods, and major drought or flood events.
  • Determine the groundwater levels in response to water-use and land-use changes.
  • Assess water-quality changes over time in response to climate and land-use changes.

Other Websites and related information. 

Water quality of sand and gravel aquifers in McHenry County, Illinois, 2020 and comparisons to conditions in 2010

McHenry County, Illinois, obtains most of its drinking water from shallow sand and gravel aquifers (groundwater). To evaluate this groundwater resource, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with McHenry County, Illinois, collected water-quality samples from 41 of 42 monitoring wells in the McHenry County Groundwater Monitoring Network and 4 monitoring wells from the U.S. Geological Survey Na
Authors
Amy M. Gahala, Lance R. Gruhn, Jennifer C. Murphy, Lisa A. Matson
By
Central Midwest Water Science Center

Hydrogeology and water quality of sand and gravel aquifers in McHenry County, Illinois, 2009–14, and comparison to conditions in 1979

Baseline conditions for the sand and gravel aquifers (groundwater) in McHenry County, Illinois, were assessed using data from a countywide network of 44 monitoring wells collecting continuous water-level data from 2009–14. In 2010, water-quality data were collected from 41 of the monitoring wells, along with five additional monitoring wells available from the U.S. Geological Survey National Water
Authors
Amy M. Gahala
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Central Midwest Water Science Center

Water quality of Nippersink Creek and Wonder Lake, McHenry County, Illinois, 1994-2001

Wonder Lake, McHenry County, Illinois was formed when an earthen dam was constructed across Nippersink Creek in 1929. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the McHenry County Soil and Water Conservation District, operated two streamflow and water-quality monitoring sites (upstream and downstream of Wonder Lake) from July 1994 through June 1997, and examined the water quality of th
Authors
David H. Dupre, Dale M. Robertson

Suspended-sediment budget, flow distribution, and lake circulation for the Fox Chain of Lakes in Lake and McHenry Counties, Illinois, 1997-99

The Fox Chain of Lakes is a glacial lake system in McHenry and Lake Counties in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin. Sedimentation and nutrient overloading have occurred in the lake system since the first dam was built (1907) in McHenry to raise water levels in the lake system. Using data collected from December 1, 1997, to June 1, 1999, suspended-sediment budgets were constructed for the mos
Authors
David L. Schrader, Robert R. Holmes

Tools for groundwater protection planning: An example from McHenry County, Illinois, USA

This paper presents an approach for producing aquifer sensitivity maps from three-dimensional geologic maps, called stack-unit maps. Stack-unit maps depict the succession of geologic materials to a given depth, and aquifer sensitivity maps interpret the successions according to their ability to transmit potential contaminants. Using McHenry County, Illinois, as a case study, stack-unit maps and an
Authors
R. C. Berg, B. Brandon Curry, R. Olshansky

Water in sand and gravel deposits in McHenry County, Illinois

McHenry County, Illinois derives a major part of its ground-water supply from unconsolidated sand and gravel aquifers. Twenty-six public systems tap these aquifers for all or part of their supply. The county contains two types of sand and gravel aquifers--unconfined aquifers which are at or near the land surface, and semiconfined aquifers which are overlain by one or more till members. A map of wa
Authors
J.R. Nicholas, J. T. Krohelski

McHenry County

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