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Major investments have been made recently along the Illinois River in habitat rehabilitation and enhancement, stream bank stabilization, and conversion of former agri-cultural drainage and levee districts back to floodplains. Past efforts included intense site-specific habitat management, such as manipulation of water levels in floodplain lakes to...
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Citations
... The reconnection of levee-protected floodplains to the river can restore the surface-water connectivity, which creates opportunities for reducing flood risk, increasing nutrient retention, habitat, and consequently improve ecosystem health within the river corridor (Opperman et al., 2009;Jacobson et al., 2015;Guida et al., 2016;Dahl et al., 2017;Serra-Llobet et al., 2022). While previous studies have attempted to quantify these potential benefits via hydraulic, flood loss, and ecological modeling (e.g., Sparks et al., 2003;Dierauer et al., 2012;Jacobson et al., 2015;Guida et al., 2016;Jacobson et al., 2022), there have been very few studies undertaken from which to directly measure reconnection benefits (Serra-Llobet et al., 2022) or their hydraulic, geomorphic, and sediment-transport effects on the river and its floodplain. ...
... The reconnection of levee-protected floodplains to the river can restore the surface-water connectivity, which creates opportunities for reducing flood risk, increasing nutrient retention, habitat, and consequently improve ecosystem health within the river corridor (Opperman et al., 2009;Jacobson et al., 2015;Guida et al., 2016;Dahl et al., 2017;Serra-Llobet et al., 2022). While previous studies have attempted to quantify these potential benefits via hydraulic, flood loss, and ecological modeling (e.g., Sparks et al., 2003;Dierauer et al., 2012;Jacobson et al., 2015;Guida et al., 2016;Jacobson et al., 2022), there have been very few studies undertaken from which to directly measure reconnection benefits (Serra-Llobet et al., 2022) or their hydraulic, geomorphic, and sediment-transport effects on the river and its floodplain. ...
... However, as development continues and flood heights rise, the associated risk and potential damages also increase (Hipple et al., 2005;Remo et al., 2012). Thus, in order to solve the long-term problem of reducing flood heights, thereby reducing flood risk in these built environments, reconnecting rivers to their floodplains has gained prominence in the U.S. and Europe (Sparks et al., 2005;Opperman et al., 2009;Dierauer et al., 2012;Remo et al., 2012;van Loon-Steensma and Vellinga, 2014;Guida et al., 2015;Jacobson et al., 2015). ...
... For many levee-protected floodplain areas along the ILR Valley, the confining clay layer retards groundwater recharge to areas that were once floodplain wetlands or perineal waterbodies permitting them to be drained by pumping out the surface water. Discontinuation of surface-water pumping in these levee-protected floodplains would likely result in the filling and reconnection of many of these former floodplain wetlands and waterbodies to this regional groundwater system (Thompson, 2002;Sparks et al., 2005). ...
... As such, the wickets are lowered during floods, and flood waters are conveyed downstream. However, operation of the dams at low water can have impacts on water levels tens of kilometers upstream (Sparks et al., 2005). These increased water levels have a negative impact on floodplain plant species that require a consistent spring flood pulse but do not tolerate permanent inundation (Ahn et al., 2006). ...
During the latter half of the 19th Century and first half of the 20th Century, the Illinois River was heavily altered through leveeing off large portions of its floodplain, draining wetlands, and the construction of dams and river-training structures that facilitated navigation. As a result of these alterations, flood stages continue to rise, increasing flood risk and threatening to overtop levees along the La Grange Segment (LGS) of the Illinois River. Over the last two decades, more emphasis has been placed on reconnecting portions of floodplains to rivers in order to solve the long-term problem of rising flood heights attributed to continual heightening of levees to provide flood protection. Multiple studies have suggested that strategically reconnecting larger portions of the LGS could result in more sustainable floodplain management. However, the true costs and benefits of reconnecting the floodplain are not known. We use a novel hydrodynamic, geospatial, economic, and habitat suitability framework to assess the tradeoffs of strategically reconnecting the Illinois River to its floodplain in order to decrease flood risk, improve floodplain habitats, and limit the costs of reconnection. Costs include building-associated losses, lost agricultural profits, and levee removal and construction costs. Tested scenarios demonstrate that while flood heights and environmental benefits are maximized through the most aggressive levee setbacks and removals, these scenarios also have the highest costs. However, the tradeoff of implementing lower-cost scenarios is that there is less flood-height reduction and less floodplain habitat available. Several individual levee districts have high potential for reconnection based on limiting potential damages as well as providing floodplain habitat. To implement large-scale strategic floodplain reconnection, costs range from $1.2-$4.3 billion. As such, payments for ecosystem services will likely be necessary to compensate landowners for decreased long-term agricultural production and building losses that result in flood-reduction benefits and increased floodplain habitat.
... As such, there is a need to assess the tradeoffs that may accompany the potential benefits of floodplain reconnection. This study aims to quantify the agricultural benefits that would be lost by reconnecting levee districts to the Lower Illinois River (LIR), a river segment that has been recommended for potential levees setbacks and removals in order to naturalize riverfloodplain function (Akanbi, Lian, & Soon, 1999;Sparks et al. 2005). This naturalization would restore the hydrologic function between the river and floodplain. ...
... Along the Illinois River, several floodplain reconnection scenarios have been modeled and demonstrated that selectively allowing some levee districts to flood may reduce flood levels along the whole reach, thereby reducing risk to others that may be prioritized for protection (Akanbi et al. 1999). However, more research is needed to address the potential costs and risks associated with reconnection proposals along the Illinois (Akanbi et al. 1999;Sparks et al. 2005). Such research would lead to more realistic assessments of floodplain restoration costs and benefits which are necessary to make more informed management and policy decisions on the tradeoffs between the value of levees for flood-loss mitigation and the other services (e.g., wetland benefits) that reconnected floodplains may provide (Brouwer & van Ek, 2004;Guida et al. 2015;Jacobson et al. 2015;Jonkman, Bo ckarjova, Kok, & Bernardini, 2008;Prato & Hey, 2006). ...
... Thus, despite the recent interest in the tradeoffs in services provided by leveed versus non-leveed floodplains (e.g., Dierauer et al. 2012;Prato & Hey, 2006;Remo et al. 2012;Sparks et al. 2005), to the best of our knowledge, no existing study quantifies the full agricultural production value of individual levee districts along a specific river reach or segment. These finer-scale cost estimates are necessary and valuable in providing a more robust picture of floodplain areas which, if reconnected and taken out of production, may yield higher benefits with minimized buyout costs. ...
During the 1920’s, Illinois River levees became increasingly difficult for private landowners and the state
to maintain as commodity prices fell and flood levels increased. However, the 1928 U.S. Flood Control act
shifted a substantial portion of the burden of flood mitigation from local landowners to the federal
government, preventing the dissolution of levee districts. While these levee systems have facilitated
floodplain agricultural production and development for the last century, disconnecting the river from its
floodplain has led to concerns about the negative impacts of levees on the physical and biological systems
of the Illinois River Valley. Recent studies have emphasized approaches that would result in setting
back or removing levees in order to naturalize portions of large river-floodplain systems, including the
Illinois. The costs and benefits of such projects along the Illinois have shown potential restoration
benefits may outweigh potential costs, but these studies have not demonstrated the specific levee districts
which have the highest reconnection potential from an economic standpoint. This study uses
geospatial methods to fill this gap by assessing the National Commodity Crops Productivity Index (NCCPI)
soil values and agricultural production and profit values for corn and soybeans in 32 individual levee
districts along a 235-km segment of the Lower Illinois River. In general, soil productivity index values
were lower for Illinois River levee districts compared to the county averages in which the districts are
located. Over the five-year study period from 2010 to 2014, the total agricultural profits in the levee
districts ranged from $18e61 million. Several levee districts have relatively low per hectare agricultural
values when compared to the value of wetland benefits, indicating these protected floodplain areas may
be more suitable for reconnection.
... Vegetation is important because it stabilizes shorelines and provides food and habitat for many species of fish, mammals, and waterfowl that are highly valued by humans. The greatest plant diversity on floodplains is maintained where floods occur frequently enough at lower land elevations and at the right time of year to eliminate competitors of plants that are flood-adapted, but not so frequently that not even the flood-adapted species can grow (Ahn et al. 2006;Sparks et al. 2005). ...
... On average, river stages for low extreme conditions and for monthly flows were reduced due to reduction of diversion in the upstream portion of the pool, but were raised close to locks and dams. This upstream-downstream pattern has important implications for river conservation and restoration (Ahn et al. 2006;Sparks et al. 2005). The Nature Conservancy and the Wetlands Initiative have acquired levee districts along the Illinois River from willing sellers and propose to reconnect these areas to the river. ...
The Illinois River is a tributary of the Mississippi River that connects Lake Michigan and the Mississippi River. Starting in 1848 when the Illinois and Michigan Canal began to open, the Illinois River has experienced some major human activities such as the Lake Michigan flow diversion, creation of levee and drainage districts on floodplains, and construction of locks and dams on the river. This paper uses Pettitt-Mann-Whitney change-point statistical analysis to identify the hydrologic change points caused by human activities and to quantify hydrologic alterations in the system. Observed stage data from 12 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers gauges and observed flows from three U.S. Geological Survey gauges were used to analyze human effects on hydrologic and hydraulic conditions in the Illinois River. The year 1938 was identified as the change point for low flows and low stages and 1972 as the change point for high flows and high stages. The low flow and stage condition changes were due to a combination of added flow from Lake Michigan, levee and drainage district construction, and construction of locks and dams, whereas the high flow and stage condition changes were due to hydroclimatic change within the Illinois River basin. Analyses based on the Indicators of Hydrologic Alteration (IHA) have shown that the magnitudes, frequency, duration, and number of reversals during low flood conditions were greatly modified by: (1) the construction of locks and dams on the Illinois River that were completed in 1938, (2) the reduction of flow diversion from Lake Michigan, and (3) the hydroclimatic condition change around 1972. The latter change probably contributed to the loss of both soil-moist plants and submerged aquatic plants that once provided several important ecosystem services in the system. The analyses described in this paper, coupled with hydraulic and ecological models, can help with site selection and management plans for the ecosystem restoration of floodplains in regulated rivers. DOI:10.1061/(ASCE)HE.1943-5584.0000465. (C) 2012 American Society of Civil Engineers.
... A different and contrasting restoration approach is to focus on restoring the natural processes that once functioned in the river. Methods have included the re-establishment of a flow disturbance regime (more natural variability of river discharges than for regulated conditions) (Puckridge et al., 1998), the reconnection of river reaches and floodplains (for example, those where flows and ecological functions had been disconnected by dams and bank revetments) (Fischenich and Morrow, 2000;Sparks et al., 2005), and redevelopment of habitat complexity (for example, channel re-meandering, addition of alcoves, side arms and secondary channels) (Ebersole et al., 1997;. The island classification scheme may thus become important at this point. ...
Fluvial islands are present in nearly all natural and regulated rivers. They are important from hydrological, biological, geopolitical and socio-economic points of view. As ubiquitous as islands are, consideration of islands is relatively absent in most river restoration concepts. The natural river processes that allow for island formation can easily be integrated into typical river classifications. To begin, an island classification scheme is proposed that can become a tool for improved river classifications and restoration projects. In developing an island classification scheme, the objectives are similar to those of previous river classification methods. By observing island characteristics, inductive generalizations may be made about the river's hydrologic and ecologic potential. In river hierarchies, the distinguishing variables used to describe streams were characteristics that could easily be discerned from their appearances, i.e. field-determinable features. A similar approach is sought for island classification. The distinguishing characteristics of any island may be sorted into three basic categories: those that can be measured from a topographic map or an aerial photograph; those that can be measured in situ at the island and those that can be inferred from either a known history of the island or from the other characteristics of the island. Once all the suitable characteristics were identified, a matrix for island classification was created which can be used to classify island origin and type. The better that the inter-relationship between island formation, channel processes and watershed processes are understood, the better the natural bio-physical regime of the river corridor can be identified and incorporated into restoration plans. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
... Spunky Bottoms is a floodplain reconnection project in the Illinois River, managed by The Nature Conservancy. Additional purchases of floodplain habitat within the Illinois River from private landowners by The Nature Conservancy now represent the largest planned floodplain reconnection project in the United States, excluding the Florida Everglades (Sparks et al. 2005). The promotion of successful partnerships between landowners and government agencies may enable contin-ued floodplain reconnection projects and serve to enhance lateral floodplain connectivity within UMRB large rivers. ...
The Upper Mississippi River is characterized by a series of locks and dams, shallow impoundments, and thousands of river channelization structures that facilitate commercial navigation between Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Cairo, Illinois. Agriculture and urban development over the past 200 years have degraded water quality and increased the rate of sediment and nutrient delivery to surface waters. River enhancement has become an important management tool employed to address causes and effects of surface water degradation and river modification in the Upper Mississippi River Basin. We report information on individual river enhancement projects and contrast project densities, goals, activities, monitoring, and cost between commercially non-navigated and navigated rivers (Non-navigated and Navigated Rivers, respectively). The total number of river enhancement projects collected during this effort was 62,108. Cost of all projects reporting spending between 1972 and 2006 was about US$1.6 billion. Water quality management was the most cited project goal within the basin. Other important goals in Navigated Rivers included in-stream habitat improvement and flow modification. Most projects collected for Non-navigated Rivers and their watersheds originated from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the USDA were important sources for projects in Navigated Rivers. Collaborative efforts between agencies that implement projects in Non-navigated and Navigated Rivers may be needed to more effectively address river impairment. However, the current state of data sources tracking river enhancement projects deters efficient and broad-scale integration.
... Such complexity is exhibited in the floodplain and upland naturalization activities initiated across the United States and abroad by various partnerships among private landowners, nongovernmental environmental organizations, and government agencies. Those partnerships usually buy out agricultural levee districts and rehabilitate degraded floodplain areas, riparian zones, and watersheds Sparks et al. 2000 Sparks et al. , 2005 . While they try to overcome various institutional Adams et al. 2005 and political constraints Koel and Sparks 2002 in order to achieve their overall objective of increasing or restoring the flow of ecological service benefits with little or no net cost to society, there is considerable uncertainty about the impacts the naturalization will have on local economies and communities. ...
... While they try to overcome various institutional Adams et al. 2005 and political constraints Koel and Sparks 2002 in order to achieve their overall objective of increasing or restoring the flow of ecological service benefits with little or no net cost to society, there is considerable uncertainty about the impacts the naturalization will have on local economies and communities. The potential benefits that naturalization and related development activities can bring to communities in terms of improved quality of life and enhanced local economies must be demonstrated Sparks et al. 2000 Sparks et al. , 2005 A priori assessment of development impacts and application of decision tools should contribute to this end by enhancing the capability of local planners to estimate the costs and revenues that the host community would experience and to suggest beneficial and corrective actions Barrow 1997; Keith et al. 1996. In this paper we present the approach used to build EmiquonViz—an application of CommunityViz software shell—a prototype GIS-based and spreadsheet-based model intended to serve as a planning decision support tool in assessing economic, fiscal, and social impacts of introducing tourism and recreation opportunities in a naturalized floodplain. ...
We present a prototype spreadsheet-based and geographic information system-based model, EmiquonViz, developed to examine the economic, fiscal, and social impacts of development. The model is designed to facilitate examination of hypothetical scenarios related to introducing recreational use and siting a lodging facility within a naturalized floodplain. In building the model we draw on the ongoing floodplain naturalization efforts in the middle reach of the Illinois River and assume that the new development would amount to a park of at least regional and possibly state stature; it would, therefore, attract nonlocal visitors and generate impacts on the local communities. EmiquonViz is implemented in ArcView 3.3 using the CommunityViz Scenario Constructor extension. Its purpose is to serve as a decision-making tool for planners and other community members concerned with the impact of recreational and tourism-related activities.
... Although local efforts can be an important component of local and regional economic development strategies, impacts that are beneficial at the regional or state level, may turn out to be both positive and negative for local communities, and may only serve the ecological services downstream ( Reuter et al. 2005). Thus, an optimal site selection and regional planning perspective is advocated ( Sparks et al. 2005). ...
... Various winwin solutions in river management are explored already. Reconnecting the river and its floodplain will have a positive effect on hydraulic storage, conveyance capacity, and nutrient cycling, and will dampen low-water fluctuations (Hein et al. 2005; Reuter et al. 2005; Sparks et al. 2005). To show that 44 % of the lands along a river will gain protection when 14 % of the floodplain lands is restored is really a powerful argument (Sparks et al. 2005). ...
... Reconnecting the river and its floodplain will have a positive effect on hydraulic storage, conveyance capacity, and nutrient cycling, and will dampen low-water fluctuations (Hein et al. 2005; Reuter et al. 2005; Sparks et al. 2005). To show that 44 % of the lands along a river will gain protection when 14 % of the floodplain lands is restored is really a powerful argument (Sparks et al. 2005). Riverbed widening may be a solution, not only to the clogging of the riverbed habitat, but also to stop riverbed degradation (Peter et al. 2005). ...
The physical degradation of large regulated rivers in Europe and North America and the need for rehabilitation have become issues since the 1980s. Over the past years we have greatly increased our understanding of the ecological functioning of natural rivers, evaluated the ecological impacts of river regulation, and established various approaches for river rehabilitation and restoration. Complete restoration of large rivers may be a utopian idea because of the manifold functions they serve. It is not surprising, therefore, that rehabilitation attempts so far have only recovered stretches or certain features of rivers. The steps to be taken now are to share our expertise on river functioning, river management and rehabilitation, and to put this expertise into practice.
... Various winwin solutions in river management are explored already. Reconnecting the river and its floodplain will have a positive effect on hydraulic storage, conveyance capacity, and nutrient cycling, and will dampen low-water fluctuations (Hein et al. 2005;Reuter et al. 2005;Sparks et al. 2005). To show that 44 % of the lands along a river will gain protection when 14 % of the floodplain lands is restored is really a powerful argument (Sparks et al. 2005). ...
... Reconnecting the river and its floodplain will have a positive effect on hydraulic storage, conveyance capacity, and nutrient cycling, and will dampen low-water fluctuations (Hein et al. 2005;Reuter et al. 2005;Sparks et al. 2005). To show that 44 % of the lands along a river will gain protection when 14 % of the floodplain lands is restored is really a powerful argument (Sparks et al. 2005). Riverbed widening may be a solution, not only to the clogging of the riverbed habitat, but also to stop riverbed degradation (Peter et al. 2005). ...
... Socio-economic benefits of some river rehabilitation projects are well documented. The projects described in this volume involved land use types such as forestry, recreation and tourism Sparks et al. 2005). It appears that initiatives on floodplain forestry by local enterprises, and land consolidation to aggregate public lands were successful measures in stimulating multiple land use. ...
