About the Illinois Water Science Center
The Illinois Water Science Center (WSC) is one of 48 Water Science Centers in the Water Resources Discipline of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The Water Science Center's mission is to collect, analyze and disseminate the impartial hydrologic data and information needed to wisely manage water resources for the people of the United States and the State of Illinois.
The USGS Illinois Water Science Center has three offices - the main Science Center Office in Urbana and two satellite offices in De Kalb and Mt. Vernon.
Contact information for the main Illinois WSC office:
Illinois Water Science Center
1201 W. University Avenue, Suite 100
Urbana, IL 61801
(217) 344-0037
Maps and directions to the Illinois Water Science Center offices
Studies conducted by the USGS Illinois Water Science Center encompass the following
hydrologic disciplines and related scientific fields:
- Surface-water hydrology and hydraulics
- Ground-water hydrology
- Water and sediment chemistry
- Geology
- Geochemistry
- Biology
- Ecology
- Limnology
- Geomorphology
- Cartography and Geographic Information Systems
- Sedimentology
The USGS Illinois Water Science Center collects data, conducts interpretive water-resources appraisals and research, and disseminates information in a timely manner.
Studies encompass the four following areas: Hydrologic Data Collection, Hydrologic-Data Bases, Hydrologic Studies, and Hydrologic-Analytical Techniques.
Hydrologic Data Collection
The collection of hydrologic data is an important service provided by the USGS Illinois Water Science Center in cooperation with Federal, State, and local agencies.
The Illinois Water Science Center operates and maintains a network of more than 150 streamflow-gaging stations throughout the State.
Data from more than 100 of these stations are made available to the public by satellite and telephone telemetry.
The USGS Illinois Water Science Center collects many different types of data including:
- Stream discharge
- Water velocity in streams and lakes
- Water quality of streams, lakes, and aquifers
- Ground-water levels
- Precipitation quantity
- Sediment concentration, size, and rates of deposition
- Biological and morphological data of streams and lakes
Water-quality sampling and analysis are conducted for a variety of constituents:
- Major inorganics
- Trace elements
- Dissolved gases
- Pesticides
- Organic solvents and petrochemicals
- Biological indicators
- Nutrients
- Isotopes
- Physical characteristics
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Hydrologic-Data Bases
Water-related data are maintained in the National Water Information System (NWIS)
and are available to the public. This data base includes:
- Surface-water data
- Ground-water data
- Water-quality data
- Water-use data
- Geographic data
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Hydrologic Studies
Helping to solve water-related problems is the primary objective of hydrologic studies conducted by the USGS Illinois Water Science Center.
Water issues that are addressed in these studies include:
- Water quality and supply
- Environmental contamination
- Effects of toxic substances in water, sediment, and biota
- Aquifer characterization
- Sediment transport and chemistry
- Causes and effects of flooding
- Water use
- Rainfall-runoff relations
- Ground-water/surface-water interaction
- Evaluation of scour at bridges
- Effects of agriculture and other land uses on water quality
- Water-quality assessment of lakes and reservoirs
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Hydrologic-Analytical Techniques
The studies done by the USGS Illinois Water Science Center utilize traditional methods and state-of-the-art techniques of data analysis.
These methods and techniques are designed to meet the objectives of each study:
- Watershed modeling
- Flood-frequency analysis
- Sediment-transport analysis
- Ground-water flow and solute-transport modeling
- Acoustic velocity measurement systems
- Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
- Borehole drilling and core sampling
- Surface and borehole geophysics
- Analysis of aquatic organisms
- Immunoassay
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U.S. Department of the Interior |
U.S. Geological Survey
