The Cache: A Disconnected River

Some of the oldest living trees east of the Mississippi are found in the Cache River Watershed.

At the point where the Post Creek Cutoff diverted the Cache directly south into the Ohio River, a floodgate was installed. When water levels were high enough, the floodgates were opened and water flow from the upper Cache continued west through the Lower Cache Channel. However, the Cutoff continued to deepen and widen until eventually no water flowed into the Lower Cache channel from the Upper Cache. Today, the water in the eastern half of the Lower Cache actually flows east (upstream) and into the incised Cutoff ditch.

The flow from the Upper Cache, once the source of water for Buttonland Swamp, kept the channel in the swamp open. As late as the 1960s Long Reach in the Lower Cache still had a depth of eight feet, but because Upper Cache water ceased flowing through Buttonland Swamp, more sediment deposited into the swamp, further impeding drainage.

Sediment from drainage ditches and straightened creeks cause up to a foot of sediment per year during the 1970s and 1980s.

Two tributaries into the Lower Cache, Cypress Creek and Big Creek, were also victims of man’s attempt to make this environment more livable—however, land clearing and drainage efforts exacerbated the problem by increasing soil erosion and sediment transport. During the 1970s and 1980s, for example, nearly a foot of sediment was deposited in some parts of the Lower Cache each year.

Fishing in the Cache was a way of life for people living in the watershed.

Fishing had been an important way of life on the Cache, but according to local residents the fishery was eliminated after the local drainage district dredged the Lower Cache in 1972 in order to speed drainage.  Just like the river, a divide was forming between those who saw the river and its associated wetlands as a hindrance to progress, and those that understood the importance of restoring and maintaining the natural wetlands ecosystem.

In 1978 Illinois completed the Natural Areas Inventory—several areas within the Cache River Watershed were included in that inventory. In 1979 citizens organized to save the Cache and formed one of the first citizen groups in Illinois, Citizens Committee to Save the Cache. This attention sparked increased interest in the scientific community and researchers began serious documentation of the region.

John White records 12 record setting trees in the Cache watershed.

In 1980 one researcher, ecologist John White, documented the big trees in the Cache of which 12 set state records; and he helped get the Lower Cache River Swamp designated as a National Natural Landmark.

 

In 1984 The Nature Conservancy completed a preservation plan and by 1988 citizens began supporting an effort to create a refuge. Cypress Creek National Wildlife Refuge and Cache River State Natural Area were formed in 1990. The following year the Cache River Wetlands Joint Venture Partnership (JVP) formed between Ducks Unlimited, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, The Nature Conservancy, and US Fish and Wildlife Service.

People came together to create the Cypress Creek National Wildlife Refuge and the Cache River Wetlands.

Working together, the JVP and citizens created the Cache River Watershed Plan, which formed the foundation for C2000 project work to restore habitat, reduce sedimentation, and restore connectivity of the disconnected river. The next blog will take a closer look at these projects and accomplishments.

Sources:
Resource Plan for the Cache River Watershed, Cache River Watershed Resource Planning Committee, December 1995
Cache River Watershed: Its People and Their Wetlands (PowerPoint), Tracy Boutelle Fidler, 2011.

The Smart Grid: A Better Forecast For Reliable Power and Clean Energy Jobs

Crazy weather we’re having, right?  It’s been a stormy summer, and one full of reminders about the need to invest in our electric grid.   It’s also a sign of things to come, according to climate scientists, who for years have been predicting stronger storms and more intense rainfall events for Illinois due to rising pollution levels.

How do we prepare for this uncertain future?   Getting serious about the smart grid is not only crucial for keeping the lights on (not to mention your refrigerator and air conditioning), but it also can be a big spark to the emerging clean energy economy in Illinois at a time when Illinois needs the jobs and economic development most.

This Spring, the General Assembly passed the Energy Infrastructure Modernization Act.   The core of the legislation, Senate Bill 1652, aims to build a smarter, stronger grid for the future.   Building up the grid is great, but just as important is breaking down the barriers to clean, renewable energy that makes service more reliable and the air cleaner.    SB 1652 does just that by allowing large rooftop owners to benefit by installing solar and windpower on their roofs.  

If these big box stores, office parks, warehouses, parking garages, and other large rooftop owners install clean energy on the roof, they would get the same incentive homeowners currently have – on days when they make more electricity than they use, putting the extra back on the grid, they get a credit for that power against their electric bill.   In addition, utilities would be required to buy some of the power they sell to us from small renewable systems like these.   The combined effect of these two incentives will be turning empty roofs into job sites, with electricians, equipment operators, carpenters, laborers, and others installing pollution-free power systems.

The bill makes another fundamental reform that will reduce the cost of power by harnessing market forces to spur new energy efficiency businesses.  SB 1652 will change the way the Illinois Power Agency (IPA) and our utilities buy our power.  In addition to buying nuclear, coal, solar, and wind power, the they will now also buy power from entities that reduce energy use if it is cheaper than generation. This will provide a market- ‐based mechanism that will save consumers money and create jobs and  economic growth.

Together, these clean energy programs will create thousands of new jobs and deliver cleaner air by moving Illinois toward pollution-free power.   In addition to spurring wind and solar power, modernizing the electric grid itself can have major environmental benefits.   Updated transmission lines and substations will waste less power between its source and your home.   Smart meters will allow you to be in total control of your own energy use – why not set your dishwasher to run at the cheapest time if you’re not in a rush?    On a hot summer day, cool your house at cheap rates in the morning rather than peak prices at 4 in the afternoon.   The grid also needs work if we’re going to make the switch to electric vehicles, which will be in dealer showrooms this fall.

Clean energy will also make the grid more resilient.   Every solar or wind system installed means less energy that has to travel many miles over wires to get to that home or business, and less stress on the grid.   Energy conservation reduces the load on the grid, especially on those very hot summer days when the system is at capacity.   In fact, the efficiency programs we’ve already begun probably prevented brownouts during this summer’s heat waves:

“We have definitely seen an impact from increased energy efficiency and demand-response efforts,” says Mark Lauby, vice president of reliability assessment and performance analysis for the North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC), an organization tasked with ensuring that the nation’s power grid keeps running. “It’s giving us more margin, more resources.”

And let’s not forget that wind, solar, and efficiency are the best ways to cut the global warming pollution that will bring us more violent weather in the future.

Recognizing how important a smart grid is to our energy future, the Obama administration has launched a major initiative to upgrade the grid.   According to Energy Secretary Steven Chu:

“A modern grid must be able to support both distributed and central generation. A modern electric grid is critical to meeting the President’s goals of generating 80 percent of electricity from clean energy sources by 2035 and putting one million electric vehicles on the road by 2015.”

Senate Bill 1652 is not perfect.    Governor Quinn and others, including Attorney General Lisa Madigan and consumer advocates, object to the fact that electric rates will go up to pay for the grid modernization, and that the legislation streamlines the Illinois Commerce Commission process for reviewing these increases.  Quinn, who founded the Citizen Utility Board, has vowed to veto the legislation based on these consumer concerns.   The Governor has also been a longtime champion for clean energy, and he has no quarrel with the renewable energy and conservation programs in the bill – in fact, they are key pieces of his comprehensive energy plan.

With SB 1652 headed to his desk, Governor Quinn is now in a position to make sure that consumers are protected while we maximize clean energy.   With added protection for consumers to go along with needed grid upgrades and new energy technologies, the forecast can look a whole lot better in the years ahead.

The Post Creek Cutoff Ditch Changes the Cache River Forever

Post Creek Cutoff was originally 30 feet wide and 10 feet deep.

In 1905, 250,000 acres in the Cache River watershed were described as wet and worthless for farming. The Cache River Drainage District was created in 1911 with specific purpose of construction the Post Creek Cutoff. By 1916 the 4.8 mile long Cutoff was completed, diverting the 60% of the Upper Cache due south of Belknap into the Ohio River. The fall was to be one foot per mile along the 30-foot wide by 10-foot deep ditch.

By 1974, the Cutoff was 200 feet wide and 64 feet deep near the Grand Chain bridge, appearing more like a canyon that a drainage ditch.

The steep gradient and non-meandering route instantly accelerated flows and began a process of severe erosion, which continues today. By 1974, the Cutoff was 200 feet wide and 64 feet deep near the Grand Chain bridge, appearing more like a canyon that a drainage ditch.

Simultaneously, a network of straight ditches and laterals were constructed through the Black Slough region. The Main Brothers Box and Lumber Company used these as float roads to get logs to the sawmill in Karnak. They also diverted part of the Cache River north of Karnak through Sawmill Ditch where logs were stored in a pond.

Following the completion of the Cutoff and miles of additional drainage ditches, thousands of acres of timberland were cut and cleared through the 1940s. Today most of the vast swamp/pond complex exists has huge farm fields, which are tiled with outlets into another ditch, called the Main Ditch and its tributaries.

Post Creek Cutoff causes Environmental Damage to the Eastern Half of the Cache Watershed

The increased water velocities through the Cutoff have resulted in headward gully migration, causing scoured channels and eroded banks 20 miles upstream. This phenomenon directly affected Heron Pond (a National Natural Landmark) when erosion incised the Cache adjacent to Heron Pond by only six feet. With swamp levels higher than the river and bank erosion eliminating the natural levees that once separated the swamps from the river, underground piping and open gullies threaten to drain Heron Pond and the other natural swamps along the Cache.

As the Post Creek Cutoff has deepened and widened, so have the many side streams and ditches that feed into it. The resulting lateral gullies, some over a mile long, extend into adjacent farm fields impeding access and loss of useable farmland.

The Cutoff has lowered the water table and caused the loss of natural springs. The changes in hydrology have caused changes in the composition of natural plant and animal communities. And, because of the loss of the natural flood retention capabilities of the Black Slough, some places downstream experience worse flooding now than in pre-settlement times.

Large silt deposits end up at the mouth of the Cutoff in the Ohio River. Annual dredging is required to keep the navigation channel deep enough for river traffic.

The next article will explore the impacts of the dividing the Cache into two rivers on the Lower Cache in the western half of the watershed.

Source: Resource Plan for the Cache River Watershed, Cache River Watershed Resource Planning Committee, December 1995

Take a trip . . . to Middle Earth!

Haven’t had a chance to take that summer vacation yet?  Don’t worry – Sierra Club has you covered!

Join us for our Annual Fundraiser at Ravinia on August 19th and we will sweep you away to an entirely different world!

This year’s event features a screening of the film The Lord of the Rings – The Fellowship of the Ring, with a live performance of the movie score by the world renowned Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

Largely shot on location in New Zealand, the film makes use of that country’s unique natural features to bring J.R.R. Tolkein’s Middle Earth to life.  Tolkein’s story has been interpreted as a commentary on the destruction caused to the natural environment by industrialization.  Hear what other like-minded Sierra Club members have to say over a delicious dinner and drinks prior to the movie, and then find out for yourself as the CSO and Ravinia take you on a trip you’ll never forget!

Tickets are $75 per person.  Reserve your spot today!

What: Annual Sierra Club Fundraiser at Ravinia
Where: Ravinia Festival Park, 200 Ravinia Park Road, Highland Park IL
When: August 19th, Dinner and Drinks at 6:00pm, movie screening begins at 7:30pm

All proceeds will benefit the Sierra Club Illinois Chapter PAC.

House Approves the “Dirty” Water Cooperative Federalism Act

The Clean Water Act, and the EPA’s ability to enforce it, is under attack once again. Last week, in a 239-184 vote, the U.S. House passed HR 2018: The Clean Water Cooperative Federalism Act that severely limits the federal government’s ability to oversee state compliance with the Clean Water Act.

If passed by the Senate, two fundamental elements of the Clean Water Act will be undermined: the ability for EPA to set minimal Water Quality Standards and their ability to protect streams from the ravages of mining.  EPA’s ability to revise an existing water quality standard or create a new one will hinge upon approval by individual states.  EPA’s ability to protect water quality will be further hampered by a provision that prevents them from enforcing existing standards on any discharger that has received a permit from a state.   Together these provisions will create a hodgepodge of regulation that will allow polluters to shop around for states with weaker standards, and result in dirtier water.

The EPA needs to be able to update our water quality standards based on the best science available to adequately protect our lakes and streams. Without the ability to amend water quality standards our lakes and streams can be subject to problems like algae blooms from improperly treated waste water or fertilizer runoff, which deplete oxygen levels in the water killing fish and other aquatic life.

Corporate polluters can already easily control a state’s political landscape but without proper federal oversight from the EPA they will have free rein to pollute our waters. The Clean Water Act was created nearly 40 years ago to ensure that our waters remain safe to drink, fish and swim in. This bill not only jeopardizes the safety of our waters, but puts the health of thousands of Americans at risk.

Unfortunately, more than half of Illinois’ representatives voted to get rid of clean water protections (See how your representative voted). Congress is currently in recess so now is the time to urge senators Durbin and Kirk to protect our nation’s water and vote NO on the Clean Water Cooperative Federalism Act.

Going farther with 54.5 mpg

On Friday, President Obama announced a new plan to cut carbon pollution and save money at the pump by increasing fuel efficiency standards to 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025 for new cars and light trucks. After much negotiation, support for more fuel-efficient cars also came from 13 large auto manufacturers and the United Auto Workers union, all recognizing the potential for job growth.

Photo credit: Priit Kallas

The auto industry has said there isn’t a technological barrier to more fuel-efficient vehicles and instead blamed consumer demand, but that’s all changing.   A dwindling supply of oil that is increasingly dangerous to obtain, rising gas prices and concern over global temperatures now make more mpgs attractive to the majority of Americans. According to a recent poll by the Pew Clean Energy Program, 82 percent of national voters supported an increased fuel efficiency standard of 56 mpg by 2025.   Even more encouraging is the diverse base support that included 70 percent of Republicans, 87 percent of Democrats and 88 percent of independents.

So what does this 54.5 magic number mean? Besides being able to go about twice as far on a tank gas, it signals a significant movement away from our nation’s dependency on oil.  Luckily, we don’t have to wait over a decade to start seeing benefits of more mpgs. The 54.5 standard builds off an earlier agreement that requires cars built between 2012 and 2016 to achieve 35.5 mpg.

IL Chapter Director Jack Darin checking under the hood of an electric car, the Chevy Volt

According to the White House “These programs, combined with the model year 2011 light truck standard, represent the first meaningful update to fuel efficiency standards in three decades. Together, they will save American families $1.7 trillion dollars in fuel costs, and by 2025 result in an average fuel savings of over $8,000 per vehicle. Additionally, these programs will dramatically cut the oil we consume, saving a total of 12 billion barrels of oil, and by 2025 reduce oil consumption by 2.2 million barrels a day – as much as half of the oil we import from OPEC every day.”  A 54.5 mpg standard will cut more than 6 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas over the life of the program—that’s more than the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by the United States last year alone.  At a time when attacks on the environment are polarizing Washington, it’s encouraging that Americans are finding common ground and recognizing that sustainable practices will take us all farther.