The top IDNR water regulator shares key water use issues for Illinois

By Donald R. Vonnahme

Illinois is blessed with abundant water resources. An average annual rainfall of approximately 40 inches provides an average annual runoff of about 12 inches, which fills our rivers, streams, lakes and reservoirs and replenishes our ground water supplies. However, the availability of these water resources varies within the state both by region and with time. Thus, the state's water resources need to be studied and managed on a regional basis with due consideration of climate variability (floods and droughts) and climate change (wetter or drier).

Water use in Illinois is estimated every five years through a cooperative effort of the Illinois State Water Survey, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Geological Survey. The most recent data available show that Illinois withdraws about 20 billion gallons of water per day for domestic, municipal, commercial, manufacturing, industrial, mining, livestock, irrigation, power generation, recreation, navigation, waste dilution and natural habitat needs. Of this amount, approximately 95 percent comes from surface water sources and 5 percent comes from groundwater.

A sound scientific principle for water resources planning and management is the concept of sustainable or safe yield.

The application of this principle means that the rate of withdrawal from a ground water aquifer should not exceed the rate at which water is replenished. For surface waters in our rivers and streams, this means that adequate instream flows need to be preserved in order to meet the needs of aquatic and riparian ecosystems and other instream uses such as navigation and recreation. Recent water use proposals, described below, have highlighted three major voids in Illinois' water use law which, if not filled, could lead to the destruction of our surface and groundwater resources.

Recent Water Issues

Gas Turbine Powered Electrical Generation Peaking Plants

Around the state, there is a growing number of proposed developments for natural gas-powered, turbine-driven, electrical generating facilities. These plants generally are designed for water demands in excess of 8 million gallons per day, which is enough water supply to serve a community of over 50,000 in population. This level of water use could have significant impacts on surface and groundwater resources. The proliferation of these plants could well be the catalyst to initiate legislation for modifying Illinois' water use law to protect instream flows and to provide for groundwater management and regulation.

Major Stream Withdrawals by Municipal Water Entities

The cities of Joliet and Elgin, and interests from the Joliet Area Development Authority, have been working with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) on proposals and permits for major water supply withdrawals from the Fox and Kankakee rivers. Although these rivers are public waters of the state of Illinois (where IDNR has broader regulatory authority) issues regarding the protection of instream flows on these public waters clearly point to the significance of the lack of authority to address these same issues on the non-public waters of the state. Current inventories show that 92 percent of all the streams in Illinois are classified as non-public.

Proposed Changes to Illinois Water Use Law

Recent interest in major withdrawals from rivers and aquifers for electrical power generating units and municipal water systems have again pointed to the need to refine Illinois water use law. A summary follows of the three areas of law where there is a clear lack of authority for the state to respond to water management issues.

Emergency Powers and Drought Management

From the Global Climate Change Task Force published recommendations, updated in February of 1999:

34 Illinois Parks and Recreation

IP&R: What is important for our readers to know about the Illinois water supply? Vonnahme: Most people believe that Illinois is a water rich state, but sometimes we are very limited in what we can use. Statewide, we have more supply than demand, but it is not evenly distributed. Unwise development can result in wells and streams running dry. IP&R: Is that happening now in Illinois? Vonnahme: No, but it has and still can. The state doesn't have the power to adequately regulate water use. Indiana, for example, has more statuatory authority than Illinois to restrict water use. Along the Kankakee River, Kankakee and Iroquois counties are large irrigating counties. So are Jasper and Newton counties in Indiana. When they are irrigating during mild or heavy drought, ground water levels in small-town wells and rural households start going dry. Indiana will reduce its withdrawals, but Illinois doesn't have that law. Illinois irrigators keep pumping. Then, we send Don Vonnahme up on nothing but his good looks to ask Illinois irrigators to reduce pumping. They may or may not listen. IP&R: Why are instream flows so important? Vonnahme: If a stream is not one of the public waters of the state, we don't have authority to restrict the amount of water that someone can take out of the stream. Illinois has 33,000 miles of mappable streams, but only 8 percent are public. In those areas we can tell people how much they can take out and how much they have to leave for fish and wildlife and other instream uses. In Illinois we follow riparian law, which is basically the right of reasonable use. Essentially if you are on a nonpublic stream, as long as you don't take all of the water, you're OK. Trouble clearly comes if you pump a stream dry; however, by then it's far too late.

"Water supplies in Illinois are controlled by thousands of independent public water supply entities. There is no statutory authority for any state agency to intervene in disputes between those entities when conflicts arise over limited water resources. Thus, Illinois courts are called upon to settle disputes on a piecemeal basis, with inadequate rules of law to guide them, often leading to undesirable outcomes.

"In recent years, the Governor has activated the drought response task force as needed to settle conflicts during drought. Lacking regulatory powers, the task force relies on voluntary restrictions on users and arrangements between local water entities. These methods are useful and effective for moderate, short-term restrictions, but insufficient in situations of chronic shortage.

"IDNR's Office of Water Resources is best suited to settling water disputes. It has served as the lead state agency for water use administration, allocating and regulating water supply from Lake Michigan through a permit system. It has also worked statewide in water supply planning and in the coordination of water supply users. State water law should be revised to give authority to the agency to settle water disputes."

Instream Flow Protection

The issue of protecting critical instreatn flows in rivers and streams was the number three priority recommendation of the Land and Water Management Committee of Conservation Congress III. The Interagency Instream Flow Protection Committee summarized the issue in its 1991 report as follows:

"With each new drought and burst of economic development and growth in Illinois, numerous additional demands for the offstream use of the state's surface water resources occur. The development of these resources occurs across the state and can cause significant negative impacts to streams of any size and at any location. Without the provision for the protection of some level of minimum streamflow, the resource values, uses and benefits of these aquatic resources are significantly impaired."

Ultimately, the recommendation of the State Water Plan Task Force was to seek legislation that either established minimum or required stream-flows or that specifically authorized an agency to establish such flows, beyond the existing statutory law.

Groundwater Management and Regulation

1) Current state laws (Water Use Act of 1983 and the Water Authorities Act) do not provide for adequate or proper management of groundwater developments in Illinois.

2) A major issue in the development of groundwater resources is the resolution of well interference issues. This occurs mainly when the development of a high capacity well negatively impacts the operation of a nearby smaller well, most generally in use by a rural household.

3) The political aspects of competition among and between urban and rural users of groundwater currently hinder good groundwater management.

4) The level of government that should have the ultimate power to regulate groundwater resources must be determined. Rural areas and agricultural interests support local control, based on the contention that state government would always tend to favor municipal and industrial users over rural interests.

In April of this year, Governor Ryan issued Executive Order Number 5, which provides for the establishment of a Water Quantity Planning Program under the auspices of the Interagency Coordinating Committee on Ground-water and the Groundwater Advisory Council, as authorized by the Illinois Groundwater Protection Act, 415 ILCS 55/5. Hopefully, this effort will produce a plan to 'fill the voids' and allow for the wise use and management of our precious surface and groundwater resources.

Donald R. Vonnahme is director of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources' Office of Water Resources. Visit the office's Web site at http://www.dnr.state.il.us/owr/content/OWR_index.htm.

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