Illinois added Lake Vermilion to its Clean Water Act section 303(d) list of impaired waters in 2002 and added Hoopeston Branch in 2004. Industrial and municipal point sources of pollution, agricultural sources of nonpoint source pollution, and hydrologic and habitat modifications led to low levels of dissolved oxygen in Illinois’ Lake Vermilion and Hoopeston Branch, a tributary to the North Fork Vermilion River. Project partners implemented best management practices throughout the Lake Vermilion watershed, leading to water quality improvements.
The two waterbodies now meet water quality standards for dissolved oxygen, prompting the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to remove them from the state’s list of impaired waters-Lake Vermilion in 2006 and Hoopeston Branch in 2008.
Source: US EPA
