Feedback from City of Naperville regarding discharge into the West Branch.

[John R. Flannery]

Thought I would let club members know about two issues I raised with the Dupage Water Commission regarding discharges into the West Branch in the city of Naperville. I fish the Riverwalk quite a bit due to bad knees and convenience. The first issue was run-off from the many construction sites near the river. William Novak, the Naperville City Engineer gave me his phone number (630) 420-6704 and asked me to report any incidents, as the city has mitigation policies and inspectors to make sure they are followed.  I told him that numerous times the entire river has gone from clear to totally muddy from workers hosing down their sites in a way that the run off goes directly into the storm drains. The second issue is about Centennial Beach. This is an old rock quarry that has been repurposed into a giant swimming area with a beach at one end and is close to 20 feet deep at the other end. Every summer the area is filled with city water from fire hydrants, and in the fall drained, directly into the river. My concern is that fish exit the area until several days after the draining process is over. Though I have never seen a fish kill, there is obviously something in the discharge they clearly do not like. This is usually done when the river is low and weed choked. Mr. Novak told me that the water in the Beach is treated with chlorine, algecide, and hydrochloride acid, following Illinois regulations and that City workers stop treating the water for at least a week before draining it "to allow the chemicals to dissipate". I am no chemist, but I can see chlorine dissipating due to it's volatility, but am somewhat skeptical about the other chemicals. Then I got to thinking about how many million gallons of treated pool water are dumped into storm drains statewide. Anybody else have and knowledge or thoughts about this?

[Terry Dodge]

Check the IEPA document map. Check the location you speak of or if you know the location of the company that is responsible for the work. Documents shown I believe are any grievances and to check for proper discharge/construction permits. Must zoom in on locations for markers to show

https://external.epa.illinois.gov/DocumentExplorer/Geography

[Joe R]

Thanks for your efforts John. Very good observations. The urban nature and drainage from construction or residential areas is tough to combat. That quarry drain topic geez you would think that they could treat the water specifically with neutralizing chemicals before they drain the lake into river.

[Eric]

Thanks for the update John. Ditto what Joe said. More proof that people (even people we think of as "in charge") screw with Mother Nature on their whim in the name of profit. 

"Just doing what we're told..." is probably the excuse. 

[Bart Durham]

John, thanks for letting us know about this.  I would also check with Stephen McCraken or Deanna Doohaluk at the DuPage River Salt Creek Workgroup (DRSCW) whose jurisdiction I believe covers Naperville portion of DuPage River.  They work with the Conservation Foundation and can be reached at 630-428-4599.

[John R. Flannery]

Thanks, Bart. I will follow up with them when I get a chance. I suspect this pool drainage thing is a state-wide issue. I wonder if there are state standards or if they just ignore the effects and hope for the best.