Changes in aquatic vegetation cover following lock closure on the Illinois Waterway from 2019 – 2021

Over the summer of 2020, the Illinois Waterway was closed to complete maintenance on lock chambers along the Illinois River. This closure restricted inter-pool vessel traffic along the river and potentially changed habitat characteristics for aquatic vegetation establishment and growth. To assess if patterns of vegetation establishment and growth changed during the closure, peak biomass imagery from 2019 (pre closure) and 2021 (post closure) were compared for a vegetation response. This assessment found locations where aquatic vegetation increased and locations where aquatic vegetation decreased. However, due to unforeseen limitations in vegetation and water sampling, a causal reason for observed changed in vegetation could not be established.