FREP programs are free, open to the public, and reservations are not required, unless so stated

Wednesday, October 12, 2022  

FREP Noon Network

Noon - 1:30 PM

Location:   

 Fox Metro Water Reclamation Dist.

 Maintenance Building Meeting Area

 682 State Route 31, Oswego  

Program: 

Salt Smart Collaborative

Presenter: 

Jennifer Hammer, The Conservation Foundation

The impacts of winter chlorides on aquatic life lag well into the summer months. The first step to shorten the lag and reduce the impacts is to reduce the excess salt that is wasted every winter. This can be done in many ways, from using only what is needed and only where it is needed to fixing drainage issues before winter and increasing street sweeping in the spring. The Salt Smart Collaborative brings together people and organizations that are working on reducing the impacts of chlorides across the region.

Jennifer Hammer from The Conservation Foundation will share resources on how all of us can be a part of the solution and be Salt Smart. 

Salt Smart Website link

Wednesday, November 10, 2022  

FREP Membership Meeting and Program    1 - 2:30 PM

Location:   Hickory Knolls Discovery Center, St. Charles Park District

                     3795 Campton Hills Dr, Saint Charles

Program:  Are River Otters Making a Comeback?  

Presenter:  Pam Otto, St. Charles Park District

FREP Executive Committee will meet at 11 AM

Are River Otters Making a Comeback?  

Pam Otto is Outreach Ambassador for the St. Charles Park District. She has a great number of nature stories to tell, including the potential comeback of the river otter.

The next Fox River Summit is Thursday, March 16, 2023   Burlington, Wisconsin

Link to website -- watch for details & registration

As we begin autumn and the days get shorter and cooler, the fall colors begin to show, cicada singing gives way to evenings of cricket songs, let’s all get outdoors and enjoy the beauty of our watershed. Our next FREP program is to prepare us for winter, and address how we can be better stewards of our watershed and reduce the impacts of deicing salt. It may also answer questions you’ve had about current best practices for deicing salt application and snow removal. Please join us at the Fox Metro Water Reclamation District in Oswego on October 12 to learn about The Conservation Foundation’s participation in the Salt Smart Collaborative, and all the resources it offers.

For 4 years now I’ve written about Imagine a Day Without Water which is an October observance. This year the official day is October 20, 2022. It can be even harder to imagine a day without water when the news images as I write this are of the massive storm-surge flooding in Florida, with unimaginable amounts of water rushing through cities in the path of hurricane Ian. We also know that with climate change, we expect to see more extremes – both of drought and flooding.

As we watch the massive flooding in Florida, parts of California remain in the most extreme drought on record. Water can be very destructive, but it is also needed for life. In 2019, the US Water Alliance and DigDeep identified that there are two million individuals in America who experience lack of access to adequate drinking water and sanitation. Black, Hispanic, Latino, Indigenous, and low-income communities are more likely to experience this lack of water and sanitation than are white or affluent communities. Do you think there are people without access to clean water right here in our watershed?

We must also not fall victim to the argument that in order to provide water to the people who need it, we must deprive natural resources of needed water. If water is treated as a precious resource rather than a waste product and used wisely, it does not need to be that choice. We must also overcome the rampant myths that persist – such as if we remove the dam the water will all go away (yes people still come up with those kinds of statements when dam removals are planned).

Final thought – the amount of water used each time you flush the toilet is the total amount of water many people have for all of their needs each day. 

Learn more at https://imagineadaywithoutwater.org/

Thank you to all who have already responded to the statements

for 2022-23 membership renewal. We are at 75% of last year's dues total now and just need a last push to finish out!

Indian Creek

Watershed-based Planning



Update - October 3, 2022

Many thanks are extended to everyone who submitted watershed and water quality concerns, comments, and ideas for improvements through the public engagement website. CMAP staff are amid compiling all the input received into a single dataset. The “on-the-ground”/construction-type best management practice (BMP) project ideas will be modeled by the project’s consultant, Geosyntec, to estimate how much phosphorus, nitrogen, solids, bacteria, and chloride can be expected to be reduced going to Indian Creek and the Fox River downstream. This “pollutant load reduction” estimate, along

with planning level implementation cost estimates for all the best practices recommended in the Indian Creek planning area, are among U.S. EPA’s “nine minimum elements” required in a watershed-based plan.

The planning process will then wrap up with a framework for implementing the plan’s recommendations over the next ten years, including a general implementation schedule, criteria for determining progress, and monitoring to evaluate effectiveness.

The final Indian Creek Watershed-based Plan is due to Illinois EPA at the end of November.

Above: The permeable paver parking lot, rain gardens, and prairie vegetation at the Fox Valley Park District offices in Aurora are examples of stormwater best management practices that help protect the water quality of the adjacent Fox River.   

Photo by Holly Hudson

For project updates, documents, maps, and announcements, visit https://foxriverecosystem.org/fox/indian-creek. 

If you have any questions about the project or would like to provide any input, please contact Holly Hudson at CMAP: hhudson@cmap.illinois.gov or 312-386-8700.  

Tyler Creek Watershed Coalition Meeting

Wednesday, October 19, 2022      6:30 - 8 PM

Gail Borden Library, Meadows Community Rooms, 270 North Grove Ave., Elgin

Program: Conserving the Environmental and Water Resources of the Tyler Creek Watershed: [current] Successes and Future Challenges

Presenters: Rob Linke, Senior Water Resources Engineer & Wetland Specialist, Kane County Department of Environmental & Water Resources, and Holly Hudson, Senior Aquatic Biologist, Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning

The Tyler Creek Watershed Coalition is inviting you to join us at the Gail Borden Public Library along the banks of the Fox River in Elgin for our Annual Meeting. Our program will feature a presentation highlighting the recommendations of the Tyler Creek Watershed Plan, successful activities and initiatives to date, and challenges for the future… and how you can help make the future of the Tyler Creek watershed even better!   

Watershed planning in the Tyler Creek watershed began with an initial plan published in 2000 and a comprehensive update issued in 2008. Link: https://foxriverecosystem.org/fox/tyler-creek. 

Today, the watershed conditions are in a state of flux with changing weather conditions, such as longer drought periods interrupted by high intensity thunderstorms, as well as a projected rapid increase in the amount of new development as suburban communities respond to new housing demands. Come and learn how these challenges can be met through collaboration from residents, business owners, schools, environmental organizations, and municipalities.  We hope to see you there!

The Team developing the Fabulous Fox! Water Trail is working hard to complete our application for designation into the National Park Service’s National Water Trail System by November 1st. We have been obtaining letters/resolutions of permission by landowners of access sites and letters of support from stakeholders. Anyone interested in providing a letter of support please contact Karen Ann Miller.

Earlier this month the Kane County Board approved $1.2 million in federal recovery funds to be used for planning, marketing, infrastructure for new and improved access and signage for the section of the Fox River in Kane County. The approval of this funding will allow the County to apply for additional state matching grants through the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity Tourism Attractions & Festivals Grant Program.

Powerpoint presentations from Aug.10, 2022

Tour of the Urban Stream Research Center, Blackwell Forest Preserve, Warrenville   

  USRC Website

 Presenters: Everett Krause & Andres Ortega

Video of June 8, 2022 FREP Noon Network

Program: Kane County’s Countywide Drainage Mapping Initiative –

Where Does Your Water Go?

Presenter: Rob Linke  P.E., CFM Sr. Water Resources Engineer & Wetland

Specialist, Kane County Dept of Environmental & Water Resources

Chicago Wilderness Alliance Congress

Thursday, November 3, 2022     1-6 PM    FEE        Info & Registration Link

UIC Forum Pavilion, Chicago

From Lake County Stormwater Management Commission October Newsletter:

We are thrilled to announce that SMC was selected by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to receive $16.2 million in federal funding for flood mitigation projects throughout Lake County. A special thanks to Congressman Brad Schneider (IL-10) and Congresswoman Lauren Underwood (IL-14) for bringing these projects through the legislative process. These projects will protect Lake County residents and businesses from future flood-related impacts and would not be possible without the support from the following governmental partners: United States Navy, FEMA Region 5, Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA), Illinois Department of Transportation Region 1 (IDOT), East Skokie Drainage District (ESDD), City of North Chicago, City of Park City, Fremont Township, City of Zion, and Zion Park District.

Friends of the Fox River reports:

Largest Watershed Event - It’s Our Fox River Day ’22 was a conclusion to the busy summer season. So many folks representing the entire watershed came together to celebrate OUR Fox River. Over 1000 watershed residents attended one of over 50 events spanning the entire 200 miles of the Fox River. Event data and photos are still being accumulated, and a final report will be available soon.           Website link