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Evaluation of a Eutrophication Beneficial Use Impairment in the Grand Calumet River Area of Concern in Northwest Indiana, 2021–22

Scientific Investigations Report 2026-5130
Prepared in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Indiana Department of Environmental Management
By: , , , , , , , and 
https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20265130

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Abstract

Eutrophication has been regularly documented in the Grand Calumet River and Indiana Harbor Canal in northwest Indiana. The area has undergone various remediation efforts since the development of a Remedial Action Plan for the area in response to a 1987 amendment to the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement of 1978 between the United States and Canada and the designation of the Grand Calumet River Area of Concern by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. To address concerns of eutrophication and its effects, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, collected data from the Grand Calumet River and Indiana Harbor Canal in 2021 and 2022 to document the effects of remediation and combined sewer overflow releases on water quality.

This study used continuous monitors to collect real time data for dissolved oxygen, water temperature, chlorophyll fluorescence, specific conductance, and pH. Discrete sample analysis included biological oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, nutrients, nitrogen and oxygen isotopes in nitrate, nitrogen isotopes in ammonia, hydrogen and oxygen isotopes in water, and identification of algal communities (cyanobacteria and eukaryotic algae) by metabarcoding.

Eutrophic conditions were found throughout the area. Isotopic results indicated the source of nitrate in samples was either from soil organic nitrogen or combined sewer overflows. Combined sewer overflows were shown to have considerable effects on the sites, and remediation status did not have a great effect. Algal community results identified several taxa capable of becoming nuisance species, including Microcystaceae (cyanobacteria) and Chrysophyceae, Cryptophyceae, and Bacillariophyceae (all eukaryotic algae). When sites with irregular flow patterns were excluded from datasets, minimum dissolved oxygen concentrations were often higher downstream from remediated sites than from unremediated sites. This study shows the potential for further and more targeted exploration into the unusual conditions found throughout the Grand Calumet River and Indiana Harbor Canal area.

Suggested Citation

Hammer-Lester, R., Dumond, A., Moore, M.T., Story, A., Shively, D., Byappanahalli, M.N., Aunins, A., and Lampe, D.C., 2026, Evaluation of a eutrophication Beneficial Use Impairment in the Grand Calumet River Area of Concern in northwest Indiana, 2021–22: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2026–5130, 57 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20265130.

ISSN: 2328-0328 (online)

Study Area

Table of Contents

  • Acknowledgments
  • Abstract
  • Introduction
  • Study Area
  • Methods for Data Collection and Analysis
  • Results
  • Water-Quality Conditions by Remediation Status
  • Combined Sewer Overflow Events and Water-Quality Changes
  • Algal Community Analysis
  • Using Nutrient Concentrations and Isotope Data to Identify Biochemical and Hydrologic Processes
  • Limitations, Data Gaps, and Future Efforts
  • Summary
  • References Cited
Publication type Report
Publication Subtype USGS Numbered Series
Title Evaluation of a eutrophication Beneficial Use Impairment in the Grand Calumet River Area of Concern in northwest Indiana, 2021–22
Series title Scientific Investigations Report
Series number 2026-5130
DOI 10.3133/sir20265130
Publication Date June 10, 2026
Year Published 2026
Language English
Publisher U.S. Geological Survey
Publisher location Reston, VA
Contributing office(s) Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Water Science Center
Description Report: ix, 57 p.; 3 Data Releases; Dataset
Country United States
State Indiana
Other Geospatial Grand Calumet River Area of Concern
Online Only (Y/N) Y
Additional Online Files (Y/N) N
Additional publication details