Ground-water development in East St. Louis area, Illinois. Urbana, IL ...

Csallany, W. H. Walker, T. A. Prickett, Jack Bruin, J. P.
Dorr, R. E, Aten, H. G. Rose, and O. E. Michaels. J. W.
Brother prepared the illustrations.
This report would have been impossible without the
generous cooperation of officials of municipalities and
industries, consulting engineers, water well contractors,
and irrigation and domestic well owners who provided
information on wells, water levels, and pumpage.
GEOGRAPHY
The East St. Louis area, known locally as the "American
Bottom," is in southwestern Illinois and includes portions
of Madison, St. Clair, and Monroe Counties. It encompasses
the major cities of East St. Louis, Granite
City, and Wood River, and extends along the valley lowlands
of the Mississippi River from Alton south beyond
Cahokia as shown in figure 1. The area covers about 175
square miles and is approximately 30 miles long and 11
miles wide at the widest point. Included is an area south
of Prairie Du Pont Floodway containing Dupo and East
Carondelet.
Topography and Drainage
Most of the East St. Louis area lies in the Till Plains
Section of the Central Lowland Physiographic Province
(Fenneman, 1914; and Leighton, Ekblaw, and Horberg,
1948). The extreme southwestern part of St. Clair County
and the western part of Monroe County lie in the Salem
Plateau Section.
Much of the area lies in the flood plain of the Mississippi
River; the topography consists mostly of nearly
level bottomland. Along the river channel the flood plain
slopes from an average elevation of 415 feet near Alton
to 405 feet near Dupo. In the northern part of the area,
terraces stand above the flood plain. A terrace that extends
from East Alton to Roxana is at an elevation of
440 to 450 feet or about 25 to 35 feet above the flood
plain. North of Horseshoe Lake much of the area is
above the flood plain at elevations ranging from 420 to
435 feet.
The elevation of the land surface near the eastern
bluff is 30 to 50 feet higher than the general elevation
of the valley bottom. The bluff, along the eastern edge of
the valley bottom, rises abruptly 150 to 200 feet above
the lowland. The topography immediately east of the
bluff consists of rather rugged uplands.
Monks Mound, which rises 85 feet above the flood
plain, is the largest of a group of mounds just east of
Fairmont City. The shape of the mounds indicates an
artificial origin; however, some of them may be remnants
of an earlier higher flood plain (Bergstrom and Walker,
1956).
Drainage is normally toward the Mississippi River
and its tributaries; Wood River, Cahokia Diversion Channel,
Cahokia Canal, and Prairie Du Pont Floodway. The
tributaries drain much of the flood plain and the uplands
bordering the flood plain. The valley bottom is protected
from flooding by a system of levees that fronts the Mississippi
River and the Chain of Rocks Canal and flanks
the main tributaries. However, flooding does occur in
parts of the area because drainage facilities which convey
and store major flood runoff from the flood plain and
the upland watersheds are inadequate (Illinois Division
of Waterways, 1950). The southeastern part of the area
near Cahokia, Centreville, and Grand Marais State Park
is particularly affected by flooding. Figure 1 shows areas
flooded after heavy rainfall on May 5, 6, 7, 8, and 19,
1961.
Prior to settlement of the East St. Louis area, floodwaters
from the Mississippi River and its tributary
streams, Wood River, Cahokia Creek, Canteen Creek,
Schoenberger Creek, and Prairie Du Pont Creek, frequently
inundated large sections of the valley bottom.
The water table was near the surface and poorly drained
areas were widespread. Development of the area led to
a system of drainage ditches, levees, canals, and channels.
According to Bruin and Smith (1953) the natural
lake area between 1907 and 1950 was reduced by more
than 40 percent and 40 miles of improved drainage
ditches were constructed during the same period; this had
an effect of lowering ground-water levels by an estimated
2 to 12 feet.
The present drainage system is shown in figure 2.
Much of the flow from the upland areas east of the bluff
is diverted into four channels that traverse or flank the
valley bottom, thence flow to the Mississippi River. The
four channels are Wood River, Cahokia Diversion Channel,
Prairie Du Pont Floodway, and Canal No. 1.
Wood River carries flow from the confluence of the
East and West Forks of Wood River north of East Alton
south-southwest to the Mississippi River. Much of the
channel of Wood River is leveed.
The Cahokia Diversion Channel intercepts flow from
Cahokia and Indian Creeks in sec 7, T4N, R8W, Madison
County, and diverts it westward to the Mississippi River.
Prairie Du Pont Floodway is a relocated and improved
channel of Prairie Du Pont Creek and conveys
runoff from Canal No. 1 and Prairie Du Pont Creek near
Stolle westward to the Mississippi River. In addition it
carries flow from the valley bottom drainage area north
of Prairie Du Pont Creek and from Harding Ditch.
Canal No. 1 intercepts flow from several small upland
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