Plainfield Resident Jim Pustz Spent Over 20 Years Protecting Illinois Waterways

Plainfield Resident Jim Pustz Spent Over 20 Years Protecting Illinois Waterways (Plainfield, IL) — For more than 20 years without fail, Plainfield resident Jim Pustz has pulled on his waders, grabbed his specimen kit and made his way to where the Kankakee and Des Plaines rivers converge to spend hours at a time in an unusual volunteer activity: collecting and analyzing aquatic insects.

And while Jim is an outdoor enthusiast, this isn’t an entomology hobby. He’s helping The Nature Conservancy in Illinois monitor the once heavily contaminated waterways in and around Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, now restored to its natural glory after having been polluted for decades by military ammunition production at a now-defunct Joliet arsenal. With March 22 being World Water Day, his story is a remarkable tale of commitment and dedication.

Each spring, Jim, a 63-year-old computer programmer, is among a team of volunteer “citizen scientists” working with TNC, in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service as part of the statewide RiverWatch program, trained to collect, identify and analyze data to help determine stream quality. Volunteers also measure the width, velocity and temperature of the streams. This type of monitoring helps the Illinois RiverWatch team understand how the streams respond to the natural and human-caused changes like climate change, and how they are recovering from the lingering effects of pollutants.

During his time volunteering, Jim has seen much change over the years. Just last spring, for the first time, he observed small mouth bass, which help indicate an improving ecosystem. In addition, the quantity of mayflies and stoneflies has been increasing over the years, also indicating improving stream conditions.

This is a notable difference from the “red water” pink byproduct of TNT production that once polluted the waterways in the area, which was formerly the site of the Joliet Army Ammunition Plant and is now Midewin. The facility produced over one billion pounds of TNT and was not declared inactive until 1993, only two years before the RiverWatch program began.

On World Water Day, it seems a fitting time to feature a volunteer like Jim, who recently won a RiverWatch Lifetime Achievement Award, and learn about the progress made toward creating healthy waterways inhabited by thriving wildlife.