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Mahomet Aquifer Consortium


Mission Statement: To further study the Mahomet aquifer system, the river basins and surface waters located in the 15 county regional water supply planning area and to develop and recommend options for the planning and management of these valuable public resources.

Archives

2017
2016
  • New exhibit: The Museum of the Grand Prairie offers a new exhibit, Worth of Water, starting Mar 19. This exhibit examines the importance of water in the past, present and future of Champaign County residents.
  • GW monitoring at landfills: Sen. Rose and IEPA agree to additional groundwater monitoring at 3 active landfills over the Mahomet aquifer. read more
  • Meetings: The Illinois Water Day, Apr 8, UIUC campus and Clean Water Celebration, Apr 17 & 18, Peoria
    • 2015
    • Sole Source Aquifer: On March 11, USEPA designated a portion of the Mahomet Aquifer system as a sole source aquifer. More info.
    • Hunter Lake update: read the SJR report from Aug 22
    • Water Cons Spotlight: Protect Your Groundwater Day, Sept 8 (more info below)
    • Consent Decree: read the consent decree re: Clinton Landfill here
    • WOTUS news: read the HPJ report, the Think Progress report, or the final rule
    • Aquatic Biodiversity: Sarah Douglass' presentation, Aquatic biodiversity of Champaign Co. and effects of flow, presentation
    • USEPA halts permit review: USEPA suspends its review of the permit application for storing chemical waste at the Clinton landfill-- Herald-Review report
    • PCBs banned: Quinn bans PCBs from Clinton landfill-- SJR report, N-G report
    • PCBs: Aquifer site is poor location for PCB disposal Pantagraph, May 8
    • Clean Water Act: USEPA hosts free webcast on "Waters of the U.S. Proposed Rule" from 1-3pm ET, April 7. Read the proposed rule here.
    • NSF CZO:NSF funds critical zone observatory in the upper Sangamon River basin.
    • New Board member: Rick Twait, City of Bloomington replaces Craig Cummings. Rick is the Superintendent of Water Purification, City of Bloomington.
    2014
    2013
    2012
    2011
    • ISWS releases report Meeting East-Central Illinois Water Needs to 2050: Potential Impacts on the Mahomet Aquifer and Surface Reservoirs by Roadcap, Knapp, Wehrmann and Larson.
    • MAC names new Board Member-- Ronald L. Smith of Illinois American Water replaces Barry Suits. Ron is PE and joined the IAWC Champaign office in November 2011. Welcome Ron!
    • Seminar: Sept 20, 2011: "Elevated arsenic in the Glasford aquifer near Tolono", more details
    • USEPA extends public comment period on the Clinton PCB landfill permit until Aug 14, 2011. More Info Read comments submitted by Dr. George Roadcap, ISWS, to Rafael Gonzalez, USEPA Region 5 Community Involvement Coordinator, dated June 15, 2011.
    • The Clean Water Celebration returns to Peoria, April 10 & 11, 2011 more info
    • MAC adds a new Technical Advisor-- Dr. Yong Cao, a Stream Ecologist with the Illinois Natural History Survey, Champaign. Dr. Cao's addition results from a recommendation made by the RWSPC.
    • Springfield's Hunter Lake: new environmental study needed. Read SJ-R article
    2010 and earlier
    • ISGS geologists employ new technology to learn more about the Mahomet aquifer (read more)
    • MAC names two Board Members-- MAC expands its Board to 9 members with the announcement of Joan Esarey of Ford County Soil and Water Conservation District and Patrick Gleason of Rural Community Assistance Program/Illinois Assoc. of Community Action Agencies.
    • Illinois Water 2010 was held Oct 5-7 in Champaign.
    • IAWC provides Every Drop Counts to all Champaign Co. residents read Every Drop Counts.
    • MAC Spotlight:
      Do you know where your water comes from? A group in Champaign wants their students to be able to answer this question. Sixth-grade students in Champaign’s Unit 4 School District learn where their water comes from (the Mahomet aquifer), where their wastewater goes (discharged to the Salt Fork or the Kaskaskia River), and how human activity affects water resources. The students learn the answer to these questions while studying Fresh Water Resources, a 5-week science education unit. Fresh Water Resources was developed by Kristin Camp, K-12 Science and Health Curriculum Coordinator for the District, three teachers-- Natasha Harroff, Jen Mathis, and Donna Peyton, and a MAC technical consultant, George Roadcap. The students enjoy this science unit because it has a local tie-in, using a Powerpoint presentation developed by Dr. Roadcap. This presentation shows photos of the water wells that supply water in Champaign, the wastewater treatment plants and other important hydrologic features that student’s have seen in their community. To learn more about Fresh Water Resources, contact Kristin Camp. If your schools do a great job teaching students about water resources, let us know about. Email your MAC Spotlight material to the webmaster.
    • New paper on geochemistry of Mahomet aquifer>> get PDF of paper by Hackley, Panno & Anderson (2 MB)
    • At the April 2010 MAC mtg, Pat Gleason, a Rural Development Specialist with the Rural Community Assistance Program/Illinois Assoc. of Community Action Agencies, described the activities of RCAP. View a PDF of his Powerpoint presentation (404 KB)
    • Water issues to be discussed on local media:
      Sun, Feb 12, 3-4:30 PM Liquid Assets: The Story of Our Water Infrastructure will air on WILL-TV,
      Mon Feb 13 listen for special feature on WILL (580 AM) Morning Edition and All Things Considered &
      Tues Feb 14, 11AM stormwater issues will be discussed on Focus 580
    • View Springfield's Water Story: Planning for the Future. This video views well with the Windows Media Player and runs approx. 42 minutes.
    • Multi-media presentation about the Mahomet aquifer set for Oct 10-18 (6 public events). Learn more here
    • RWSPC releases it final report, A Plan to Improve the Planning and Management of Water Supplies in East-Central Illinois in June 2009. It can be downloaded here.
    • MAC in the news>> WILL-AM (Urbana) reports Mahomet Aquifer Consortium still looking for money to finish their study. Read this May 12, 2009 report at the WILL am 580 website. It describes MAC's current fundraising effort.
    • MAC in the news>> WILL-AM (Urbana) reports Mahomet Aquifer study short of funds. Read this April 10, 2009 report at the WILL am 580 website. It describes the loss of the 3rd year of funding for the RWSPC study and MAC's current fundraising effort.
    • Water may not be as plentiful as Illinoisans think by Chris Young in Illinois Issues, July 2008
      • Mel Pleines accepts the 2008 Illinois Groundwater Education Award from the Illinois Groundwater Association, April 2008
    • MAC recognized by the Illinois Groundwater Association-- MAC was awarded the 2008 Illinois Groundwater Education Award for its dedication to the study and management of this valuable resource while striving to educate the communities that rely on the aquifer's continued viability. At the April 8th IGA mtg, Mel Pleines accepted the award on behalf of MAC.
    • What's the impact of biofuels on the US water supply? Read this report from the National Research Council
    • Read about various water issues in On Tap. Read the entire Fall 2006 issue (a 5 MB file).
    • ISWS letter to the City of Champaign re: water availability from the Mahomet aquifer
    • What's been done to study the Mahomet aquifer? Check the revised list of projects
    • Illinois American Water Co. pledges financial support for aquifer studies. Read more

    Comments? email the webmaster                  last revised: Dec 1, 2017

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