In 2013, the Elgin O’Hare West Access Project (EOWA) was announced to connect the Elgin-O’Hare Expressway (IL-390) to O’Hare Airport and connect I-90 and I-294 via the new I-490 tollway.
As preparation for the construction project, we assessed stream sites in the corridor. We surveyed for aquatic macroinvertebrates, mussels, and fish at Higgins Creek, Salt Creek-Thorndale Ave., Salt Creek-Salt Creek Forest Preserve, and Spring Brook.
Sensitive groups of macroinvertebrates (EPT) were absent or extremely depressed at some sites and replaced with more tolerant taxa (e.g., worms, isopods).- Overall, 3 families of Ephemeroptera, no Plecoptera, and 4 families of Trichoptera were found
- Flatworms (Platyhelminthes), amphipods, oligochaete worms (Clitellata), and chironomids were collected at all sites
- Hydropsychid caddisflies (Hydropsychidae: Cheumatopsyche spp.), blackflies (Simuliidae: Simulium spp.), isopods (Asellidae: Caecidotea spp.) and snails (Gastropoda) were found at 3 out of 4 sites
- Native freshwater mussels were rarely encountered across the study sites.
- The 2 species found (P. grandis and L. complanata) are typically considered tolerant to poor water quality and use a suite of host fish for successful metamorphosis, allowing them to persist in degraded stream
- Historically, 10 species were found in that area
- 16 species of fish total
- Fish communities consisted of primarily common tolerant species.
- One species, Smallmouth Bass, is moderately intolerant
- Three most abundant species were Bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus), Blackstripe Topminnow (Fundulus notatus), and Bluntnose Minnow (Pimephales notatus)
Publications:
Bilger, E.E., A.J. Stites, J.L. Sherwood, S.A. Douglass, and M.J. Dreslik. 2017. Aquatic community surveys of the Elgin-O’Hare western access project area. Illinois Natural History Survey Technical Report. 2017(9):1–20.
For more information on construction visit the Illinois Tollway website.