Over the last five years, Elmhurst has spent $25.6 million on storm water control and flood mitigation efforts in 11 separate projects that have brought flood protection to 353 previously flood-prone homes in town.
Is the effort working?
Yes, said Pine Street resident Kathleen Sullivan, whose home is near a water detention area formerly part of the Elmhurst Park District’s Golden Meadows Park.
Sullivan said the Golden Meadows detention area has taken water six times would otherwise have been in homes in the Pine Street and Avon Road area east of downtown.
“Oh yes, we’re all thrilled we can sleep at night,” Sullivan said. “It’s definitely reduced the stress level of storm events.”
Sullivan is in a good position to judge. After her home flooded five times between the fall of 2008 and early 2009, she became a strong and persistent voice calling on city officials to take action on flooding.
Since 2010, she has attended what she estimated is hundreds of meetings of the City Council, the Public Works Committee, the Elmhurst Park Board and Elmhurst School District 205 Board to pressure officials to act on stormwater mitigation.
Elmhurst Mayor Steve Morley has acknowledged the importance of her persistent lobbying.
Other projects completed include installing underground detention vaults, as was done on Washington Street north of Madison Street, and partnering with DuPage County to put in a relief sewers to carry stormwater west from flood-prone areas of Evergreen and Myrtle avenues and Walnut Street under First Street to the Elmhurst Quarry.
That work alone was designed to protect 76 homes that were affected by the torrential April 2013 storm.
City engineer Kent Johnson said the $25.6 million spent was for construction costs, noting the city spent another $5 million on land acquisition along with costs for engineering and design work.
But the job is not done, as Johnson and public works director Howard Killian are discussing next steps with the Public Works Committee.
“Now that we’ve done these 11 projects, what’s our next focus as a city and as a City Council?” Killian said.
He mentioned the Collegeview area near York High School, but said the initial focus would continue to be on southwest Elmhurst around the Saylor/Swain/Vallette area. For the latter, Killian said city consultant Christopher B. Burke Engineering is discussing regulatory and other issues to move stormwater out of the area and to Salt Creek. The aim, Killian said, is to take it to the “river” and increase pumping out of the area.
Ald. Jim Kennedy, who chairs the city’s Public Works Committee and has spearheaded city efforts on stormwater mitigation, summed up his overall approach during a discussion of the land cost for the Golden Meadows project in late 2016.
“You can look at the cost per home, but in the end you’re talking about real people who’ve been flooded out multiple times,” Kennedy said.
Kennedy said recently flooding continues to be a top priority for the city.
“There’s still more to do,” he said. “Our goal is to eliminate overland flooding and to keep all waters in the public right of way.”
Kennedy said in addition to large scale projects, the city would continue to look at individual home flood proofing and home buyouts to address localized flooding affecting multiple homes.
With all that said and done, there are still two hot spots in the city where roads are closed and complaints pour in after heavy rains. One is the Route 83 underpass below the railroad tracks midway between North Avenue and St. Charles Road, where flooding caused the road to be closed as recently as the first week of August.
Killian said the Illinois Department of Transportation has jurisdiction there. The agency has added stormwater drains in the area, he said, but those drains often clog with road debris from the heavily traveled Route 83.
The other regular closure is the Palmer Drive underpass around downtown Elmhurst, which was also closed briefly in early August. Officials from Killian to Morley have said when the underpass went in, budget constraints meant occasional standing water would be tolerated.
Killian said he hopes to have Burke undertake a quick study to see what it would take to keep the underpass dry.
Information on city stormwater projects completed, underway and under consideration can be found at http://elmhurststormwaterplan.org/.
Graydon Megan is a freelance reporter.