On the 30th of October 2025, a team from the Center for Secure Water (C4SW) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign traveled to Peoria Heights, IL to participate in an all-day event organized and led by Ray Lees of the Tri-County Regional Planning Commission. The visit brought together local, regional, and academic leaders to address two of Central Illinois’ most pressing environmental and economic challenges: sedimentation and ecosystem decline in the Peoria Lakes.
C4SW’s delegation included Director Ana Barros, Deputy Director Ximing Cai, Managing Director Ana Pinheiro Privette, and faculty members Marcelo Garcia and Rafael Tinoco, all from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
“The Peoria Lakes represent a critical opportunity to demonstrate how science, technology, and community collaboration can work together to restore ecosystems that matter deeply to people,” said Dr. Ana Barros, Director of C4SW. “Our mission is to co-develop solutions that are both scientifically sound, socially meaningful and economically sustainable.”
Understanding the Challenge
With a combined surface area of 16,000 acres, the two Peoria Lakes are unusual but vital components of the Illinois River system, and have undergone decades of sediment accumulation. Average water depth has declined from about five feet in the early 1900s to less than two feet today, due largely to upstream erosion, stormwater runoff from the surrounding Lakes’ 12 watersheds, and the deposition of fine-grained sediments. Today, most of the lakes average just 18 inches in depth, except for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-maintained navigation channel, which remains at 12 feet. The effects are far-reaching, including loss of aquatic biodiversity and wetland functions, increased risk of nutrient resuspension and algal blooms, impaired navigation, recreation, and local tourism, and potential contamination from legacy industrial sediments.
From 1903 to 2025, the lake accumulated nearly 15 feet of sediment, making it one of the most severe cases of sedimentation in the Midwest.
“This is a systems problem,” explained C4SW Deputy Director Dr. Ximing Cai. “Addressing it requires looking upstream, at both urban and agricultural sources, and understanding how they interact with hydrology, land use, and community priorities.”
Adding to the sedimentation challenge is the invasion of several carp species, particularly silver and bighead carp, which have transformed the ecological balance of Peoria Lakes and the Illinois River. The Peoria Pool, including the Peoria Lakes, is one of the few areas in the United States where the carp can grow from eggs to 80 lbs. These species now account for 60–80% of the total fish biomass in some stretches, outcompeting native species and disrupting food webs.
Their filter-feeding behavior depletes plankton communities essential for native fish and waterfowl, while their tendency to leap from the water when startled poses physical risks to boaters and anglers.
“The combined effects have reduced biodiversity, degraded water quality, and weakened the lake’s cultural and recreational value” explains Rafael Tinoco, whose work at CEE focuses on understanding and quantifying how sediment transport leads to lake infill, sediment accumulation, and reshaping of aquatic habitats.
Collaborative Dialogue and Shared Vision
The meeting in Peoria Heights gathered 28 participants, including representatives from the Tri-County Regional Planning Commission, Peoria City Council, the City of East Peoria, the Greater Peoria Economic Development Council, the Peoria Park District, the Illinois State Water Survey, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, several nonprofits including The Nature Conservancy and the Sierra Club, and local stakeholder organizations.
Discussions focused on the shared goal of restoring the Peoria Lakes to conditions closer to those of the early 1900s—when the Corps of Engineers constructed the locks and dams and average depths reached five feet—and on identifying pathways to align technical expertise, community priorities, and policy support.
“As a University of Illinois alum (BFA ’74), it made perfect sense to reach out and bring the global talents, capabilities, and resources of the University of Illinois System to bear on a complex regional challenge like restoring the 16,000-acre Upper and Lower Peoria Lakes,” said Ray Lees. “I’m deeply grateful to Department Head Ana Barros, Center for Secure Water Managing Director Ana Pinheiro Privette, and the faculty who responded so thoughtfully to my initial inquiry this last Spring. Engaging additional university partners— Department of Geography and Geographic Information Systems, the College of Agriculture, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, and the Prairie Research Institute—can further strengthen this collaboration. With nearly 100 million tons of sediment and a watershed spanning thousands of urban and agricultural acres, this is a heavy lift that truly calls for the University’s power of knowledge and innovation.”
While representatives from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) were unable to attend due to the ongoing federal government shutdown, participants noted that interagency collaboration will be critical to future restoration efforts.
Exploring Innovative Solutions
Participants reviewed emerging technologies and strategies for managing sedimentation, including Water Injection Dredging (WID) and pilot-scale sediment management projects designed to test new, less disruptive approaches.
A major theme was community education and engagement. Residents along the Illinois River play a vital role in reducing erosion through land management practices that include:
- Better stormwater runoff control,
- Use of permeable surfaces in urban development, and
- Improved channel and drainage management.
“Everyone along the watershed—urban planners, farmers, industries, and citizens—has a role in how sediment and nutrients move through the system,” noted C4SW Managing Director Ana Pinheiro Privette. “This is a shared problem that requires shared stewardship.”
Toward a Sustainable Future
Participants agreed that while technical solutions exist and can be explored, progress depends on political will, public awareness, and coordinated investment. Many organizations have already contributed valuable research, pilot studies, and community initiatives. The challenge now is to bring these efforts together under a common vision for sustainable restoration.
“Science can illuminate the path forward,” said CEE Professor Marcelo Garcia. “But it will take long-term partnerships, commitment, and trust to translate that knowledge into action.”
About the Center for Secure Water
The Center for Secure Water (C4SW) is based in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at The Grainger College of Engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The Center is dedicated to developing and advancing innovative, inclusive, and sustainable solutions for global water security through research, technology development, and collaboration with partners across academia, government, industry, and civil society.