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              Governor Bond Lake TMDL
Final Report 38 September 2002
Lake Shore
Aquascaping and
Set-backs
No Quantification Lakeshore setbacks for houses and septic
systems, natural aquatic plants, buffers, and
filter strips all are effective at reducing bank
erosion.
Aeration System up to
90%
internal
Testing necessary to determine cause of
internal cycling and best locations. Must be
maintained.
Sediment Sealing up to
96%
internal
Temporary depending upon sediment type and
other conditions, one to 10 years
Welch and
Cook 1995,
1999
Dredging up to
90%
internal
Long term (>10 yrs), but costly Welch and
Cook 1995,
1999
9.1.3 Existing BMPs
Riparian Buffers and Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) Land. The Governor Bond Lake
watershed landscape is flat with steeply rolling land next to the tributaries. The most prevalent BMPs
currently being used are filter strips and other land enrolled in the CRP program. These lands are
typically removed from production agriculture and planted to a mixture of grasses and legumes for 10 to
15 years, and then returned to production. Continuous enrollment is also an option for land set aside for
grassed waterways, filter strips around creeks and ponds, windbreaks, riparian buffers (hardwood trees in
bottom lands adjacent to streams and tributaries), and shallow water areas for wildlife. Much of the
upland soils in the Governor Bond Lake watershed are considered a “good” candidate for shallow water
areas, while the lower lands near streams are “good” candidates for hardwood trees (riparian buffers)
(NRCS 1983). Most of the soils are considered restricted for grassed waterways due to erosion
potential, slow percolation, and high wetness. All of the soils are suitable for grass and legume
establishment and growth.
A tax abatement option is available for buffer strips of at least 66-foot width next to a water body. Much
of the land immediately adjacent to tributaries is steeply sloping or very wet and not suitable for row
crops and is consequently used for pasture or left as wooded riparian buffers. Some pasturelands continue
right up to the tributary banks.
Conservation Tillage. Conservation tillage, primarily no-till, is also practiced in the county on
approximately 31 percent of the cropped acreage (IDOA, 2000).
Education. A newsletter produced by the University of Illinois Bond County Cooperative Extension
Service is used for public education on such issues as conservation tillage, efficient application rates,
filter strip program, and other practices for protecting Governor Bond Lake.
Feedlots. Feedlot and manure application regulations for protection of water quality are found in Title 35
of the Illinois Administrative Code, Subtitle E, Part 501. In spring 2001, a diary feedlot operation in the
Dry Branch subwatershed completed installation of a livestock waste handling facility. In compliance
with state regulations, this facility was approved by the Illinois Department of Agriculture.
Shoreline Stabilization. The city of Greenville and associated stakeholders has already rip rapped 27,800
feet of shoreline and reconstructed approximately 700 feet of eroded shoreline banks.