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 The
USGS was established by Congress in 1879 to provide the Nation with
reliable and impartial information in order to understand the Nation's
natural resources. This information is used to protect life and property
from natural disasters, manage the Nation's natural resources, and protect
the environment. The USGS is a scientific organization concerned with
providing credible, relevant, impartial, and timely information to all.
Today, the USGS is known for its long-term and extensive
data-collection networks, and research of water, mapping, biology and
geology issues in Illinois and throughout the Nation. These efforts
provide policy makers, managers, and scientists, and the general public
with information needed to understand and make decisions about the State
of Illinois' natural resources.
The USGS, Illinois Water Science Center, primarily
addresses water issues. These include flooding and surface- and
ground-water quality. The USGS, Illinois Water Science Center investigates
the occurrence, distribution, quantity, movement, and chemical and
biological quality of Illinois' surface and ground water. Specific water
resources activities of the Illinois Water Science Center include
maintenance and analysis of long-term (prior to the turn of the Century)
quantitative and qualitative data for streams, reservoirs, estuaries, and
ground water; and short-term interpretive investigations of specific
water-resources issues on a local, State, regional, and national level.
Such investigations include the measurement of the diversion of water from
Lake Michigan, urbanization and flooding, water quality of the Illinois
River Basin, sedimentation of rivers and lakes, and contamination of
surface water and ground water by hazardous waste. The USGS, in Illinois,
primarily carries out its activities from three offices in Urbana, De Kalb,
and Mt. Vernon, with a highly trained staff of scientists, technicians,
and support personnel committed to providing accurate and timely natural
resource information.
I hope that you find the information on the following
pages to be helpful, interesting and informative. If you have any comments
or suggestions on how the pages could be improved to better serve your
needs, please contact the USGS Illinois Water Science Center Webmaster. These
pages are updated on a regular basis, so we trust you will come back often
to see what we have to offer.
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