Water that hits the Earth is intimately connected to the land through which it flows. A healthy watershed will produce clean water, a necessity for all life; on the contrary, an unmanaged watershed that has undergone urbanization risks high levels of contamination.

Tenmile Creek Watershed is a subwatershed of the Illinois River Watershed, which is a subwatershed of the Mississippi River Watershed. Although small in comparison to the Mississippi, streams such as Tenmile have a profound effect on all the rivers into which they drain. The Tenmile Creek Watershed Committee identified several problems that can negatively affect the area:

• Stormwater flow volume has increased in the watershed due to human impacts such as drainage and land cover changes on urban and agricultural land. Development increases impervious surfaces, resulting in larger volumes and faster rainwater runoff which causes erosion.
• Large amounts of sediment from the Tenmile Creek Watershed are carried through the delta and deposited in lower Peoria Lake.
• Lack of construction best management practices is a problem in developing areas.
• There is a lack of awareness of the damage caused by poor construction practices.
• There is a cost to the public resulting from poor management practices.
• Soil erosion is occurring in areas including steep wooded slopes, agricultural land, and construction sites that lack suitable vegetation to protect the soil.
• Invasive plant species decrease plant diversity in our natural areas and result in erosion and habitat loss. Lack of education makes it difficult to control invasive species.
• Lack of a stable stream channel contributes to downstream sedimentation, loss of aquatic habitat, and property damage.
• Channelization has occurred in the watershed and appears to contribute to stream erosion, instability, and loss of aquatic habitat in the channel.
• Environmental damage occurs when community members are unaware of the impacts of human activities on the watershed.

The Peoria Lakes Watersheds face many challenges. Thankfully, there are opportunities for residents, governments, and landowners to use many basic and innovative solutions.

• Increased water runoff
• Municipality Requirements
• Development on bluffs
• Erosion
• Stream bank erosion
• Unstable channel
• Need For Education
• Solutions may be pricey
• Poor Stormwater Management