How Real-time Water Quality Monitoring Systems Are Crucial in Floodplain Restorations

  

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The Emiquon: an expansive plain of shallow lakes, once home to thousands of species of plants and animals, all but lost to the steady march of development over the last century. That is until in 2007, with the help of YSI equipment, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) began taking measures to change the fate of this fascinatingly complex ecosystem, an effort that has become one of the largest floodplain restoration projects in America.

Just three months after the beginning of the restoration project, the YSI Foundation donated $100,000 worth of YSI 6600 series sondes and meteorological stations to assist scientists in monitoring the effects of naturally reintroduced water on the growth of local plant and animal life within the 7100 acre expanse of floodplain. Initially three remote monitoring stations were installed to keep track of Key Ecological Attributes (KEAs), which include important parameters such as dissolved oxygen, turbidity, solar radiation, waters levels, temperature, pH, conductivity, turbidity, wind speed and direction.  The collected information is pushed via telemetry through YSI sondes and met stations, and transmitted in real time using the YSI EcoNet data logger to both private and public websites.  The public can view the live information feed on the University of Illinois at Springfield’s website or the YSI EcoNet website.

Restoration efforts continue today, and have yielded some surprising and spectacular results. Jason Beverlin, Illinois River Program Director, noted in his online journal the return of flocks of thousands of birds to the floodplain just months after the start of the project, such as coots, northern harriers, long-billed dowitchers, and ducks. The increasing number of Black-Crowned Night Herons within the area is a tell-tale sign of a healthy eco-system, as these unique fowl are the most wide-spread in the world. Dozens of Bald Eagles and American white pelicans feed in the now well-stocked waters, which teem with a variety of fish, including some rare and endangered species such as the red-spotted and pumpkinseed sunfish, and spotted gar. With the help of real-time water quality monitoring technology, scientists can continue to safely re-introduce wildlife and monitor the water that gives life to the Emiquon’s diverse ecosystem.

If you’d like to support the wonderful work done at The Nature Conservancy, please visit their site to see how you can help.