Soybeans

Flowing along Illinois’ borders and through its interior are more than 87,000 miles of rivers and streams. Many, if not most, of these waterways exist within or adjacent to agricultural land.

The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency found that pollution from crop production impairs approximately 20% of the state’s streams. Such impairment denies Illinois citizens and wildlife the right to clean, safe water. The most common pollutants from agriculture are sediment, nitrogen, and phosphorus.

In addition, thousands of stream miles in Illinois, including many which flow just downstream of headwaters, are impacted by activities of small units of government called drainage districts. Streamside habitat alteration, such as channelization and maintenance work performed by drainage districts, is the third leading cause of Clean Water Act impairments in Illinois, meaning that these streams do not meet water quality or aquatic life goals, according to Illinois EPA.

For more detailed information, visit our Agriculture Conservation, Agriculture Runoff, and Agriculture Drainage pages.