Goal 1- How does CREP measure success toward this goal?

The State continues to monitor and evaluate sediment and nutrient delivery to the Illinois River. Nutrient and sediment data have been collected since the program’s inception in 1999. According to the Illinois State Water Survey’s (ISWS) recent data indicates that both sediment and nutrient delivery to the Illinois River has gradually either stabilized or decreased as a result of the implementation of BMP’s in the Illinois River watershed. The most significant outcome has been the slow decreasing trend of nitrate-N yield from major tributary watersheds.

Shown in this graph is the Annual load entering the Kaskaskia river at Vandalia from 1975 to 2015. A decline in this load can be seen from 2000 on from implementation of Conservation programs such as CREP.

Keefer, Laura, et al. "Monitoring and Modeling of Nutrient & Sediment Loads for Varying Climates & Landscapes." Presentation at the Building Resiliency in the Face of Risk workshop, Springfield, IL, June 14, 2017.