History and Instrumentation of the Public Service Laboratory - The Illinois State Water Survey (ISWS) was founded as a part of the University of Illinois Chemistry Department in 1895 to survey the waters of Illinois and trace the spread of water-borne diseases.

Groundwater Modeling - The Illinois State Water Survey (ISWS) has a long history in the field of groundwater flow modeling. Starting in the 1960s, ISWS groundwater scientists modeled groundwater flow and aquifer response to pumpage with electric analog models of aquifer systems (Walton and Prickett, 1963; Prickett, 1967).

Environmental and Societal Impacts of Weather and Climate - Back in the mid-1960s, the Illinois State Water Survey (ISWS) launched a pioneering program to define the environmental and socioeconomic impacts of weather and climate that continues today.

The National Atmospheric Deposition Program - Largely in response to the need for "acid rain” information in 1978, State Agricultural Experiment Stations in the north-central United States formed the National Atmospheric Deposition Program or NADP.

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Precipitation in Illinois - Since 1947, precipitation investigations at the Illinois State Water Survey (ISWS) have been extensive, as would be expected at a water resources agency. As a result, every aspect of precipitation in Illinois has been better described, defined, and explained than for any other location on Earth.

Water Survey Celebrates 50^th Anniversary of Tornado Tracking by Radar - Radar is routinely used to provide early warnings for tornadoes and storms, but that wasn't always the case. Fifty years ago the Illinois State Water Survey played a key role in developing this technology.

The First Tornado Hook Echo Weather Radar Observations - On Thursday, 9 April 1953, the first recorded radar observations of a tornadic thunderstorm were made by Mr. Donald Staggs using a research radar system operated by the Illinois State Water Survey (ISWS) at Champaign.

Establishing Regional Climate Centers - The nation's current system of six Regional Climate Centers grew out of efforts started at the Water Survey in 1981. The Midwestern Center provides climate services to Illinois and other states.

Involvement of Atmospheric Sciences in Illinois Policy Issues, 1950-2001 - Since the 1950s atmospheric scientists at the Illinois State Water Survey played proactive and reactive roles in major Illinois policy issues. Review of the 50 years of policy interactions reveals that five factors were important for obtaining successful science-policy interactions.

Also see: History of the Water Survey
           ISWS Projects List