Kane County Water Resources Investigations: Simulation of Groundwater Flow in Kane County and Northeastern Illinois

Abstract

This report discusses an assessment of groundwater resources supplying water to
\nKane County, Illinois, a rapidly growing county on the west side of the greater Chicago
\nmetropolitan area. This study assimilates the available data into a set of computer models
\nof groundwater flow in regional and local aquifers, quantifying the components of the
\nhydrologic cycle and assessing the impact of historical and projected pumping. The
\nmodeling study is part of a comprehensive project assessing surface water, geology, and
\ngroundwater in Kane County.</p>
\n<p>The water resources assessment project was motivated by a combination of
\nfactors and trends. The population of Kane County is projected to increase more than 70
\npercent from the 2000 population to over 718,000 by 2030. Although this population
\nincrease likely will be accompanied by greatly increased water demand, Lake Michigan,
\nthe source of water upon which the northeastern Illinois region has historically relied,
\nmay not be available due to legal constraints and the significant expense of conveying
\nwater from the lake to Kane County. These limitations have prompted planners and
\ndecision-makers to look to water resources within Kane County to meet projected
\ndemands. Studies conducted prior to the initiation of the present investigation in 2002
\noffered only a regional, qualitative understanding of the geology and hydrology, scattered
\nsets of sporadic observations, and isolated studies of local issues. Although these legacy
\nstudies are inadequate for fostering detailed water-resources planning, they suggested the
\npossibility of water shortages in Kane County by 2025 (Northeastern Illinois Planning
\nCommission, 2002).</p>
\n<p>In response to these factors, the Kane County Development Department
\ncommissioned the Illinois State Water Survey and Illinois State Geological Survey to
\nassess groundwater and surface water resources to support county water-supply planning
\nefforts. This assessment includes the present study, whose goal is to ascertain the current
\nand future status of groundwater resources in Kane County, Illinois. To achieve this goal,
\nthis study develops and applies computer models of groundwater flow to clarify the
\nrelationships between aquifers and streams and to quantify the effects of current and
\nfuture groundwater usage. The study assembles the data collected in the field, retrieved
\nfrom archives and synthesized during 2002 to 2006, and assimilates them into computer
\nmodels that simulate groundwater flow.</p>
\n<p>This executive summary briefly describes the development, application, and
\nresults of computer modeling conducted for the study. The more extensive main report
\ndiscusses the hydrologic characteristics of geological materials in the Kane County area
\nand documents the data review and inference of parameters, the development and
\ncalibration of the groundwater models, and their detailed results. Readers should consult
\nthe main report for these details, as well as an overview of hydrogeologic concepts, the
\nregional setting, and model development. Readers interested in basic concepts of
\nhydrology may find the introduction by Alley et al. (1999) to be useful. Anderson and
\nWoessner (2002) provide extensive guidance on the practice of developing groundwater
\nflow models.</p>