The Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy (NLRS) is a statewide plan designed to reduce nutrients entering Illinois waterways from agriculture, wastewater treatment plants and urban stormwater runoff. This plan is updated and expanded every two years through biennial reports. The most recent 2023 Biennial Report highlights the efforts, investments and progress of NLRS to reduce nutrient loss from the agricultural, point source and urban stormwater sectors since the strategy's inception in 2015.

Reducing nutrient loss is critical for improving Illinois waterways, supporting local ecosystems and mitigating downstream environmental effects, including the Gulf of Mexico's hypoxic zone. The 2023 Biennial Report outlines key updates on nutrient reduction efforts across Illinois. Understanding these is crucial for stakeholders looking to implement effective nutrient reduction solutions. Fehr Graham plays a vital role in supporting these efforts by providing technical expertise, securing funding and helping communities achieve nutrient reduction goals.

What is the Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy?

The Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy (NLRS) is a statewide effort designed to reduce the amount of nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, from entering the state's waterways. The strategy aims to reduce nutrient loss in Illinois waterways by 45% for nitrogen and phosphorus loads, improve water quality locally and mitigate downstream effects in the Gulf of Mexico's hypoxic zone.

The strategy includes interim targets such as a 15% reduction in nitrate-nitrogen and a 25% decrease in total phosphorus by 2025. Since its launch, the Illinois NLRS has achieved significant milestones across the agricultural, point source and urban stormwater sectors. Despite the multisector efforts and adoption of numerous best practices, the NLRS partnership anticipates the strategy will fall short of its 2025 interim goals, particularly for phosphorus, despite multisector efforts and practices that support nutrient loss reduction. This shortfall is attributed to increased streamflow, legacy phosphorus stored in sediment and other unknown sources.

Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy (NLRS) highlights
Strategy launch	In 2015, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Illinois Department of Agriculture and University of Illinois Extension introduced the NLRS strategy, which set a roadmap to address nutrient loss through collaborative efforts involving multisector stakeholders in agriculture, municipal wastewater and urban stormwater management.
Interim goals	The NLRS strategy set interim reduction targets for nitrogen and phosphorus, focusing on measurable progress by 2025.
State and federal funding	State and federal funding initiatives have supported nutrient reduction projects, enabling communities to adopt new conservation practices and meet regulatory requirements.
Stakeholder engagement	The strategy emphasizes collaboration among farmers, municipalities, community leaders and government agencies to achieve nutrient loss reduction goals.

Notable progress of the Illinois NLRS across sectors (2021-2022)

Agricultural sector

Farmers and agricultural organizations have made substantial strides in adopting conservation practices and engaging in outreach events. However, to meet established goals, the agriculture sector must adopt conservation practices more swiftly and broadly.

• Increased outreach: The agricultural community saw record participation in nutrient loss awareness programs. This sector organized more than 940 outreach events, attracting more than 110,000 participants.
• New conservation practices: Approved techniques include saturated buffers, terraces, and water and sediment control basins. The Illinois NLRS now recommends 15 agricultural practices. While these practices are being adopted, the pace is insufficient to meet the strategy's interim reduction goals.
• Impact: Conservation efforts prevented 73,000 pounds of nitrogen and 30,000 pounds of phosphorus from entering waterways during 2021-2022.

Point source sector

Municipal wastewater treatment plants continue to improve phosphorus reduction efforts, surpassing interim goals. By 2022, this sector exceeded the strategy's 25% interim total phosphorus reduction goal for 2025. This achievement is attributed to compliance with Illinois EPA's National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program, which mandates treatment plant improvements and optimizations.

• Phosphorus reduction: Total phosphorus discharges have decreased by 6.2 million pounds (a 34% decline) since 2011.
• Facility compliance: In 2022, 101 of the 211 major municipal facilities reported annual average phosphorus concentrations of 1 mg/L or less.
• Future planning: Sixty-seven facilities are developing Nutrient Assessment and Reduction Plans (NARPs) to implement further phosphorus reduction measures. Further, 89 facilities are developing NARPs as part of a watershed group.

Urban stormwater sector

Stormwater runoff, such as rainfall and snowmelt off roads and sidewalks, can carry pollutants like phosphorus and nitrogen into Illinois waterways. Urban areas are adopting innovative stormwater management techniques to manage urban stormwater, reduce runoff and improve water quality.

• EPA-funded projects: Eleven Illinois EPA-funded projects kept 1.2 million gallons of stormwater out of waterways. The investments totaled $9 million, $5 million through the Green Infrastructure Grant Opportunities Program and $4 million from local matching funds.
• Community practices: Seventy percent of communities with Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4s) adopted street sweeping and leaf collection practices to reduce nutrient runoff. These practices help to reduce phosphorus discharge from storm sewers.
• New projects: The Illinois EPA funded 14 new stormwater practice projects, reducing total nitrogen by 4,192 pounds and total phosphorus by 1,033 pounds.

How Fehr Graham helps Illinois communities

Agriculture, point source and urban stormwater sectors play critical roles in reducing nutrient loss in Illinois, and each has its own set of challenges. At Fehr Graham, we know collaboration and partnership with private and public organizations remain pivotal to the success of Illinois' NLRS strategy.

Fehr Graham is a trusted partner in helping Illinois communities achieve nutrient reduction goals. We have collaborated with Illinois community leaders to achieve measurable progress throughout the state. We can help your organization:

• Develop NARP strategies for nutrient loss reduction.
• Design, engineer and oversee compliant solutions.
• Secure and manage funding for your project.

Fehr Graham provides customized solutions to reduce nitrogen and phosphorus loads, from agricultural conservation practices and stormwater management systems to wastewater engineering. We're proud to provide support throughout all process stages of nutrient loss reduction projects.

Partner with Fehr Graham

At Fehr Graham, we are dedicated to helping Illinois communities achieve their nutrient loss reduction goals. From engineering and designing innovative solutions to securing and managing project funding, our licensed professionals can provide the expertise and support you need.

Karoline Qasem, PhD, PE, PMP, is a powerhouse in water resources engineering. She specializes in watershed, water quality, hydrodynamic modeling, regulatory permits, nutrient criteria development, watershed planning and stormwater management. Her groundbreaking research, particularly at the interface of environmental engineering and ecology, has revolutionized our understanding of urban streams. Reach her at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..