Sierra Club says DuPage streams are healthier

Seven years of chemical data collected from three of DuPage County's most important waterways show their health is improving, but there's still significant room for improvement, area Sierra Club officials say.

"They're not terminally ill, but they're under the weather," Jack Darin, director of the Illinois Sierra Club chapter, said Tuesday. "We can nurse them back to health."

The report, titled "Restoring DuPage County Rivers," chronicles seven years of chemical research on both the East and West branches of the DuPage River as well as Salt Creek.

The findings show phosphorus pollution above acceptable Illinois Environmental Protection Agency levels. Nitrate levels also are higher along the three waterways than in other streams in the county.

Sierra Club officials point to municipal water treatment plants as the cause for the nutrient pollution. They are advocating statewide legislation that would require reductions in phosphorus and nitrate emissions from treatment plants.

Because phosphorus and nitrates are commonly found in lawn fertilizers, they also are urging residents to avoid using fertilizers containing those chemicals.

Paul Mack, a volunteer researcher who has been taking readings of the chemicals in the DuPage River for years, said while phosphorus and nitrates aren't toxic, they still create havoc on the ecosystem.

"It's good for the lawn, bad for the river," he said. "They feed algae, which can choke a river if it grows out of control."

The group announced its findings Tuesday at the spot along the West Branch in Naperville where members take chemical readings every month.

Mack demonstrated how they measure phosphorus levels. The results showed a decrease over the seven-year average, but it was still above the state's limits.

Darin said there's proof legislation can work to improve the health of rivers. Officials have seen ammonia levels decline after laws were enacted to reduce emissions of that chemical from treatment plants.

The group also is challenging municipalities to reduce their reliance on salt-based deicing agents because of the increased chloride levels in the rivers in the winter.

Mack said salt runoff can become toxic to fish and other aquatic life in the waterways at high levels.