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P. J. Terrio

Publications and source records attributed to P. J. Terrio.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS2004

Illinois drainage water management demonstration project

Due to naturally high water tables and flat topography, there are approximately 4 million ha (10 million ac) of farmland artificially drained with subsurface (tile) systems in Illinois. Subsurface drainage is practiced to insure trafficable field conditions for farm equipment and to reduce crop stress from excess water within the root zone. Although drainage is essential for economic crop production, there have been some significant environmental costs. Tile drainage systems tend to intercept nutrient (nitrate) rich soil-water and shunt it to surface water. Data from numerous monitoring studies have shown that a significant amount of the total nitrate load in Illinois is being delivered to surface water from tile drainage systems. In Illinois, these drainage systems are typically installed without control mechanisms and allow the soil to drain whenever the water table is above the elevation of the tile outlet. An assessment of water quality in the tile drained areas of Illinois showed that approximately 50 percent of the nitrate load was being delivered through the tile systems during the fallow period when there was no production need for drainage to occur. In 1998, a demonstration project to introduce drainage water management to producers in Illinois was initiated by NRCS4 An initial aspect of the project was to identify producers that were willing to manage their drainage system to create a raised water table during the fallow (November-March) period. Financial assistance from two federal programs was used to assist producers in retrofitting the existing drainage systems with control structures. Growers were also provided guidance on the management of the structures for both water quality and production benefits. Some of the retrofitted systems were monitored to determine the effect of the practice on water quality. This paper provides background on the water quality impacts of tile drainage in Illinois, the status of the demonstration project, preliminary monitoring results, and other observations.

Conference Paper↗
USGS2003

Herbicides and herbicide degradation products in upper midwest agricultural streams during august base-flow conditions

Herbicide concentrations in streams of the U.S. Midwest have been shown to decrease through the growing season due to a variety of chemical and physical factors. The occurrence of herbicide degradation products at the end of the growing season is not well known. This study was conducted to document the occurrence of commonly used herbicides and their degradation products in Illinois, Iowa, and Minnesota streams during base-flow conditions in August 1997. Atrazine, the most frequently detected herbicide (94%), was present at relatively low concentrations (median 0.17 μg L −1 ). Metolachlor was detected in 59% and cyanazine in 37% of the samples. Seven of nine compounds detected in more than 50% of the samples were degradation products. The total concentration of the degradation products (median of 4.4 μg L −1 ) was significantly greater than the total concentration of parent compounds (median of 0.26 μg L −1 ). Atrazine compounds were present less frequently and in significantly smaller concentrations in streams draining watersheds with soils developed on less permeable tills than in watersheds with soils developed on more permeable loess. The detection and concentration of triazine compounds was negatively correlated with antecedent rainfall (April–July). In contrast, acetanalide compounds were positively correlated with antecedant rainfall in late spring and early summer that may transport the acetanalide degradates into ground water and subsequently into nearby streams. The distribution of atrazine degradation products suggests regional differences in atrazine degradation processes.

Midwest region↗
USGS1999

Water quality and habitat conditions in upper Midwest streams relative to riparian vegetation and soil characteristics, August 1997 : study design, methods, and data

Water-chemistry, biological, and habitat data were collected from 70 sites on Midwestern streams during August 1997 as part of an integrated, regional water-quality assessment by the U.S. Geological Survey National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program. The study area includes the Corn Belt region of southern Minnesota, eastern Iowa, and west-central Illinois, one of the most intensive and productive agricultural regions of the world. The focus of the study was to evaluate the condition of woodedriparian zones and the influence of basin soildrainage characteristics on water quality and biological-community responses. This report includes a description of the study design and site-characterization process, sample-collection and processing methods, laboratory methods, quality-assurance procedures, and summaries of data on nutrients, herbicides and metabolites, stream productivity and respiration, biological communities, habitat conditions, and agriculturalchemical and land-use information.

Open-File Report↗
USGS1995

Dendrogeomorphic estimate of changes in sedimentation rate along the Kankakee River near Momence, Illinois

Changes in sedimentation rates wee estimated using root-burial depth and tree-age data at six selected data-collection sites along the Kankakee River near Momence in Kankakee County, Illinois. Five sites were in backwater areas away from the river channel, and one site was on a natural levee near the channel. A summary of the dendrogeomorphic data at the six sites indicates that sedimentation rates were greater after 1950 than before 1950. Greater sedimentation rates after 1950 were observed at four of the five backwater sites, whereas no change in sedimentation rate after 1950 was observed at the fifth backwater site. The observed rates could have been affected by any combination of soil erosion, soil compaction, or increased streamflow. A greater sedimentation rate after 1950 was observed at the levee site, which appeared to have been affected by erosion from a flood in 1950. Effects of erosion were not observed at any of th other sites. No erosional effects and soil not susceptible to compaction at the five backwater sites indicate that neither erosion nor compaction affected observed sedimentation rates. The effect of increased stream- flow in the Kankakee River Basin since the early 1900's on the observed sedimentation rates is not known.

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗
USGS1995

Water-quality assessment of the upper Illinois River Basin in Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin: Nutrients, dissolved oxygen, and fecal-indicator bacteria in surface water, April 1987 through August 1990

Data describing the presence, spatial distribution, and temporal variability of nutrients, dissolved oxygen, and fecal-indicator bacteria in surface water were collected from streams in the upper Illinois River Basin from 1987-90 as part of the U.S. Geological Survey's National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) program. The largest concen- trations and loads of total nitrogen and total phosphorus were observed in streams in the urban areas of the basin. Mean annual loads of total nitrogen and total phosphorus leaving the upper Illinois River Basin accounted for 30 and 4 percent, respectively, of the input of these nutrients to the basin. Upward trends in total nitrogen concen- trations from 1978-90 were observed at three surface-water sampling stations, and downward trends in total phosphorus concentrations were observed at two stations. Median dissolved oxygen concentrations ranged from 3.4 to 12.2 milligrams per liter at eight long-term monitoring stations in the basin. During low-flow conditions, dissolved oxygen concentrations at 59 percent of the sites in the agricultural Kankakee River Basin and 49 percent of the sites in the urban Des Plaines River Basin were less than the Illinois water-quality standard of 5.0 milligrams per liter. Upward trends in dissolved oxygen concentrations were indicated at the two most downstream stations in the upper Illinois River Basin. Fecal-coliform densities at the fixed stations ranged from 1 to 45,000 colonies per 100 milliliters; stream-water samples from the Des Plaines River Basin typically had densities one or two orders of magnitude larger than samples from the rest of the Upper Illinois River Basin. Between 30 and 100 percent of the samples collected at surface-water sampling stations in the Des Plaines River Basin had densities of E.Coli greater than the Federal criteria for infrequently used full-body- contact water. Significant downward trends in bacteria densities were observed at three of the surface-water-monitoring stations.

Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin↗
USGS1994

Relations of changes in wastewater-treatment practices to changes in stream-water quality during 1978-88 in the Chicago area, Illinois, and implications for regional and national water-quality assessments

A study in the upper Illinois River Basin defined relations between changes in wastewater-treatment practices and changes in stream-water quality on the basis of available information. These relations were examined for five large wastewater-treatment plants in the Chicago area, Illinois. At the three largest treatment plants, two major changes in wastewater-treatment practices were identified--the cessation of chlorination and the implementation of Chicago's Tunnel and Reservoir Plan (TARP). Other changes, such as improved aeration and expansion of the facilities, also were made at some of the treatment plants. At the Calumet Water Reclamation Plant, median densities of fecal coliform bacteria in the effluent increased from 3,100 to 1,200,000 colonies per 100 milliliters after the cessation of chlorination. Median densities at the nearest downstream monitoring site increased from 9,500 to 250,000 colonies per 100 milliliters. Similar changes in bacteria densities were indicated for other treatment plants and stream-monitoring sites, but increases in densities of fecal coliform bacteria were not indicated at distances greater than 7 miles downstream. Substantial changes in effluent and stream-water quality, primarily improvements, were identified after the implemen- of TARP and improvements in aeration. Decreases in some of the largest concentrations of ammonia were particularly notable and were likely results of the cape and treatment of combined sewer overflows by TARP. Improvements in water quality were commonly related to climatic season, with greater changes taking place during warm periods. Substantial decreases in concentrations were identified for many constituents, including oxygen demand, ammonia, bacteria, and cyanide. The water-quality data available for this study were considered to be more accurate and were more comprehensive than data from most other monitoring programs. The results of this study, however, identified some needed enhancements to increase the usefulness of the data for additional purposes and analyses.

Water-Resources Investigations Report↗