Illinois' advocate for clean water and healthy rivers.
Illinois
Joined January 2012
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Streamgages have been protecting our communities for decades—tracking flooding, dry spells, and nitrate levels in waterways among many other things. But this October, three are being taken offline—with more to follow.
Earlier this year, the Spoon River gauge recorded a nitrate level of 27.1 mg/L—nearly three times greater than above the federal drinking water standard. Without these critical tools, who is monitoring this growing risk?
“We cannot manage what we don’t measure,” said Robert Hirschfeld, PRN’s Director of Water Policy in his “My Turn” piece in the News-Gazette.
news-gazette.com/opinion/gue…
“We have known that these drift injuries are occurring—they have been for decades—but their severity has really increased in the most recent ten years.”
How far can agricultural chemicals travel? And what happens when they leave the field?
In a recent episode of @FoodSleuthRadio, our Director of Ecological Health, Kim Erndt-Pitcher, talks about the often overlooked impacts of chemical trespass on trees, plants, ecosystems, and public spaces—and why this issue deserves more attention.
Listen to the full episode at the link below, or search for “Food Sleuth Radio” wherever you get your podcasts
foodsleuth.transistor.fm/epi…
MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD FOR THE MAHOMET AQUIFER RECHARGE AREAS! Almost exactly a year ago, we celebrated the passage of state legislation protecting the Mahomet Aquifer from carbon sequestration.
This timeline is not acceptable. Our partners at EcoJustice Collaborative have created a petition to extend the public comment period by 10 days to allow for a proper evaluation of the draft permits and to develop formal written comments.
Sign the petition today and stand up for clean water! ecojusticecollaborative.org/…
The Middle Fork has reached a critical erosion “trigger” point along the riverbank next to 3.3 million cubic yards of toxic coal ash from Dynegy Midwest Generation. The plan to remove the coal ash from the river’s banks has been waiting for IEPA’s approval for over four years.
This toxic coal ash needs to move out of the floodplain of the Middle Fork. Every day it remains increases the risk to Illinois’ only National Scenic River.
A recent article in the @chicagotribune details this story of toxic coal ash, Illinois’ only National Scenic River, and regulatory delays.
chicagotribune.com/2026/08/2…
