Successful Hydric Soils Class Held
On August 6 and 7, the Lake County Stormwater Management Commission and Lake County Forest Preserves hosted the Illinois Soil Classifiers Associationâs (ISCA) Field Indicators of Hydric Soils, Part 2. This two-day course trained 23 attendees on the properties of the hydric soils referenced in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Wetland Delineation Manual for the Midwest and Northcentral-Northeast regions.
This included an overview of soil formation, landscapes, water flow, local glacier activity, and field indicators of hydric soils with ISCA Soil Scientists. Field work took place at the Independence Grove Forest Preserve in Libertyville, Lyons Woods Forest Preserve in Waukegan to study soils formed during glaciation, and Spring Bluff Forest Preserve in Winthrop Harbor to view the unusually sandy hydric soils in that location. Class participants spent time describing and identifying the field indicators of the hydric soils in sandy conditions.
Thank you to our instructors, co-sponsors, and attendees for making this a successful event!
Don't Miss the Deadline! WMB Request for Proposals Now Open
The Lake County Stormwater Management Commission (SMC) is still accepting requests for proposals for Watershed Management Board (WMB) funded projects for Fiscal Year 2027 until Wednesday, September 30 at 2 p.m., via the SMC INFLOW portal.
SMC staff will review all proposal submissions based on the project prioritization criteria (inter-jurisdictional, flood hazard reduction, structural damage, water quality, natural resources, nuisance flood reduction, multiple use, outside funding utilization, and phosphorous public education component) and will make recommendations to the WMB for their approval of projects at the December 9 WMB meeting. Project proposals recommended for funding by the WMB will be forwarded to the January 2027 SMC meeting for final approval and funding appropriations.
Please note, projects for individual maintenance needs are not eligible for WMB funding. Projects included in a watershed-based plan are eligible for funding.
If you have questions about the new process, please contact your WMB watershed manager. You can complete the application all online, users just need to download the WMB member signature page to sign it and upload it to the portal.
Register for Upcoming Educational Opportunities
McHenry County Water Forum
The McHenry County Department of Planning and Development is hosting the 2026 McHenry County Water Forum on Wednesday, September 16 from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at the McHenry County College Auditorium in Crystal Lake, IL.
The theme of the Water Forum is Water Sustainability, focusing on the sources of drinking water in the county, the opportunities and constraints of each source, and potential solutions for future water use. It will include presentations by Dan Hadley and Vlad Lordache, hydrogeologists from the Illinois State Water Survey and Scott Kuykendall, Water Resources Specialist from McHenry County Planning and Development.
Registration is not required. Dinner will be served at 5:30. Full details are available on their website.
Winter Best Practices Workshops
Registration is now open for Winter Best Practices Workshops taking place from September through November.Â
There will be a mix of in-person and virtual options available for Public Roads and Parking Lots & Sidewalks workshops. Attendance at these workshops count towards meeting MS4 and NPDES permit requirements.
Learn more and register to attend a program
Lake County is hosting an in-person Winter Best Practices Workshop on Tuesday, September 29 from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Central Permit Facility, 500 W. Winchester Road, Suite 201, Libertyville, IL. This in-person workshop will include a full hot breakfast served at 7:30 a.m., don't miss out!
 Anti-Icing Liquids Panel Event
Lake County is hosting a free Anti-Icing Liquids Panel Event on Tuesday, September 29 from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. at the Lake County Division of Transportation (LCDOT), 600 W. Winchester Road, Libertyville, IL. This event will feature various anti-icing local professionals that will briefly talk about their experiences with getting into liquid anti-icing methods and their current operations.
There will be time to ask the panelists questions, as well as tour LCDOTâs brine operations. Join us to learn from experienced professionals, connect with others, and enjoy complimentary light refreshments and snacks!
Winter Chloride Watchers Training
Lake County and The Conservation Foundation are hosting a free Winter Chloride Watchers Training on Tuesday, October 20 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Lake County Division of Transportation building, 600 W. Winchester Road, Libertyville, IL.
Winter Chloride Watchers is a unique program that helps to protect the water in our streams by collecting water samples and gathering important data to help inform future water protection efforts. This training will prepare you in the basics of monitoring a sampling site on a monthly basis from November through May at a local waterway of your choosing. If you donât have a sampling site in mind a list of local available sites will be available.
The work will include completing the initial site registration form for your sampling site, then collecting and reporting your monthly sample results using the Water Rangers app or website. With this data, The Conservation Foundation and Lake County will gain a clearer picture of how chlorides affect aquatic life in the region and how Salt Smart winter practices can reduce the number of chlorides that reach waterways.
Calibration Events
Lake County will be hosting a free in-person calibration event at the Lake County Division of Transportation in Libertyville, near the salt dome, on Thursday, November 5. This returning event is an opportunity to bring winter maintenance vehicles to be calibrated with Force America and Lake County Division of Transportation staff.
One-hour timeslots will be available. Lake County entities will have priority at the November 5 event only. On-site Calibration events will also be available on November 3 and 4 at other locations in the region.
Celebrate It's Our Fox River Day With Us
Itâs Our Fox River Day (IOFRD) is held each year on the third Saturday of September. Individuals and groups organize events to celebrate, protect, and restore the health of the Fox River. The Fox River watershed encompasses over 2,500 square miles in Illinois and Wisconsin and is home to more than 1 million people. The western 163 square miles of Lake County, or approximately 35% of the county, including the Chain O' Lakes area, are in the Fox River watershed.Â
Friends of the Fox River (FOTFR) organizes the annual celebration and invites others to host events along the river, such as clean-ups, restoration activities, educational activities, shoreline yoga, meditation, paddling parties, a flower blessing, and more. A handful of cities and villages in the Fox River watershed have issued proclamations in recognition of IOFRD. If you are interested in registering an event or participating in an IOFRD event, visit the FOTFR website.
Come join SMC. The team will be hosting a booth at the Port Barrington Riverfest, 69 South Circle Avenue, Port Barrington, on Saturday, September 19 from noon to 4:00 p.m. Stop by to learn more about stormwater, raingardens, and more. Staff will share SMCâs mission and provide information to attendees about the importance of protecting our waterways.
Fox River Watershed News
- SMC is accepting Watershed Management Board (WMB) grant project applications, including for projects in the Fox River watershed, to help reduce flood damages and improve water quality until 2 p.m. on Wednesday, September 30. If you have questions about the process, visit our website or contact your Fox River WMB watershed manager Sharene Gould Dulabaum to set up a pre-application meeting.
- SMC's updated Manitou Creek-Fish Lake Drain Watershed Based Plan, funded by an Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) grant through Section 319 of the Clean Water Act, was approved earlier this year. The watershed-based plan includes projects that improve water quality, reduce flood damages, and enhance natural resources. The watershed-based plan is available on the Watershed Planning Documents page.
- SMC recently approved a grant agreement with Illinois EPA to provide funding to complete watershed-based planning in the Lake County portion of the Fox River watershed. Planning work is scheduled to begin later this year.
- SMC staff members Jacob Jozefowski and Sharene Gould Dulabaum presented "Fox River Watershed-Based Planning Efforts in Lake County, Illinois" at the 2026 Fox River Summit in March. Watch the presentations to learn more about projects occurring in the Fox River watershed, aquatic plant management, economic benefits of conservation, oak conservation, surface water chloride conditions, and more.
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Submit Your Nominations for
the Stormwater Awards
The nomination period is now open for Lake County Stormwater Management Commission's 2026 Stormwater Awards.
The Stormwater Awards recognize outstanding efforts by organizations, communities, groups, and individuals for projects and other proactive and innovative efforts to improve water quality, reduce flood damage, help restore natural drainage systems, and protect natural resources.
Nominations will be accepted through Tuesday, October 20. Awards will be given in the categories of:
- Community of the Year
- Best Management Practice and Development of the Year
- Education, Outreach and Media of the Year
- Stewardship of the Year
- Stormwater Manager of the Year
Students Visit SMC to Learn More
about Stormwater
In July, a Cool Learning Experience class of 6th and 7th graders visited SMC to learn more about how stormwater is managed and the work done by our department. Four staff members spent the morning teaching them the different roles SMC takes in reducing flooding, restoring the countyâs natural drainage system and wetlands, and improving water quality.
This included presentations about how watersheds works, past SMC stormwater infrastructure improvement projects, a demonstration on how stormwater moves through porous and no-porous surfaces in our county, and how wetlands positively improve drainage. It also included a tour of the Central Permit Facility campus to see different types of stormwater best practices, such as rain gardens and green roofs.
Public education is an important part of SMCâs mission, and weâre happy to teach area students about stormwater management. Thank you to the group from Cool Learning Experience for visiting our office and allowing us to share more about our work!
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