The Use of Hydrologic and Ecological Models to Guide Restoration Efforts
Publication: World Environmental and Water Resource Congress 2006: Examining the Confluence of Environmental and Water Concerns
Abstract
The Illinois River has been significantly altered physically and hydrologically over the last century, resulting in a degraded ecosystem. One of the major changes was the construction of levees in the floodplain to protect agricultural levee and drainage districts (LDDs) from regular flooding from the river. A total of 24 LDDs were established in the lower Illinois River between 1987 and 1916. Removal of a large part of the river's floodplain contributed to more rapid water-level fluctuations during the growing season that inhibit establishment of native vegetation along the river. Major ecological restoration efforts are underway in the Illinois River basin. One of the goals of those restoration efforts is to re-establish the natural hydrology of the river and its floodplain to the extent possible without disrupting economic activities along the river. One of the options under consideration is the reconnection of some of the floodplain with the river. Hydrologic and ecological models are being used to assess restoration potential and to guide restoration efforts along the river. Water budget and unsteady flow models of the Illinois River are being used to evaluate water level fluctuations within the LDD. Modeling results are then used as input to a vegetation model that simulates plant growth based on water depth, fluctuation, and duration. This paper presents research results for a selected segment of the Illinois River.
Get full access to this chapter
View all available purchase options and get full access to this chapter.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
© 2006 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Published online: Apr 26, 2012
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Buildings
- Ecological restoration
- Ecosystems
- Engineering fundamentals
- Environmental engineering
- Floods
- High-rise buildings
- Hydraulic engineering
- Hydraulic structures
- Hydrologic models
- Levees and dikes
- Models (by type)
- River engineering
- Rivers and streams
- Structural engineering
- Structures (by type)
- Vegetation
- Water and water resources
- Water level
- Water management
- Water supply
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.