Biological and Water Quality Survey of Sugar Creek and Tributaries Crawford County, Illinois, August and September 1992

摘要

In August 1992, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency investigated water quality and biological conditions in Sugar Creek and tributaries, Robinson Creek, Quail Creek, Marathon Creek, and Lamotte Creek, in Crawford County, Illinois. The primary purpose was to assess impacts of wastewater from the two major dischargers, the Robinson municipal wastewater treatment plant (MWWTP) and the Marathon Petroleum Company refinery, upon the water quality and aquatic life use of Robinson Creek and Sugar Creek. Water quality degradation downstream from Robinson MWWTP included elevated dissolved solids, chemical oxygen demand, nitrates, phosphorus, and chloride, and downstream from the Marathon refinery included additional elevations of all of the above constituents, along with elevated water temperatures caused by Marathon effluent. Aquatic life, including macroinvertebrates and fish, indicated poor conditions in Robinson Creek downstream from the Robinson MWWTP, and very poor conditions downstream from the Marathon refinery.