『Summary
We conducted a two-year investigation into the sources and fate
of nitrate (NO3-) in the Illinois
River from the Chicago area to the river's confluence with the
Mississippi River. Samples from waterways in the Chicago area
(Des Plaines River and the Sanitary and Ship Canal) had relatively
high concentrations of nitrogen (N) species and NO3-
isotopic compositions indicative of treated wastewater (TWW).
Downstream of the Brandon Road Lock and Dam, NO3-
in tributaries discharging to the Illinois River primarily comes
from tiles draining row crops. Nitrate isotopic signatures from
these tributaries as well as drain tiles were indicative of synthetic
fertilizer and/or soil organic matter (SOM) at various stages
of denitrification. Nitrate-N concentrations generally decreased
in the Illinois River with distance from the Chicago area primarily
due to dilution. The decrease in NO3-N concentrations
was especially conspicuous during the summer, when there is minimal
discharge from drain tiles and NO3-N concentrations
in the tributaries were low. In August 2005, when conditions were
very dry, NO3-N concentrations decreased
from 7.4 mg/L in the Chicago area to less than 1 mg/L near where
the Illinois River discharges to the Mississippi River.
The isotopic composition of NO3-
in water samples from the Illinois River were a mixture of three
end members: (1) fertilizer and/or SOM in drain tile water, typically
showing the least amount of denitrification, (2) fertilizer and/or
SOM in deeper ground water, showing the highest degree of denitrification,
and (3) TWW. There was seasonal variability, depending on the
volume of water flowing in the Illinois River. During high flow
periods, river water samples plotted closest to those of tile
drain samples; during low flow periods, a greater influence of
TWW was observed in the isotopic composition. A subset of summer
samples from the Chicago waterways had isotopic values plotting
near and within the domain that characterizes manure and sewage.
Nitrate in the Chicago area is primarily derived from TWW, with
its isotopic signature evident downstream at least as far as Pekin
during most of the year and all the way to the Mississippi River
during periods of low flow. Denitrification occurs predominantly
in groundwater between and away from drain tiles, although there
is evidence that in-stream denitrification and/or biological uptake
of NO3- occurs in the Peoria Lake
reach of the Illinois River, at least during periods of low flow
in the summer. We calculated that the river was losing about half
of its NO-N load in Peoria Lake in August 2005 (a period of very
low flow), at a rate of about 7500 kg/day.
Keywords: Illinois River Basin; Nitrate isotopes; Treated wastewater;
N-fertilizers』
Introduction
Materials and methods
Field procedures
Analytical techniques
Results
Chemical and isotopic composition of potential sources of
nitrate
Chemical and isotopic composition of river water
Discussion
Difficulties in interpretation of nitrate isotope data
Sources of nitrate within the Illinois River watershed
Tracing TWW and N-fertilizer in the Illinois River
Loss of nitrate in the Illinois River basin
Summary and conclusions
Acknowledgments
References