This Elmhurst Neighborhood Targeted For Drainage Project

Elmhurst IL

02 February, 2021

9:56 AM

Description

ELMHURST, IL — The College View neighborhood near York High School has seen its share of flooding over the years — a problem that city officials say they want to solve. This June, the city plans to begin a project to build an underground detention basin under one of York High's athletic fields. The project is expected to be mostly done by mid-August, in time for the new school year. After the basin is built, the school will put in a synthetic field, officials said. During flooding, the houses near the intersection of Alma Street and Berkley Avenue are particularly hard hit, according to the city. The city plans to drain the water there into the underground basin. Seventeen homes are seen as vulnerable and will be helped by the project, the city engineer said during a virtual meeting last week. According to the city, stormwater in the 430-acre College View area ends up in a pumping station on the west side of Route 83, across from Portillo's. This neighborhood is bound by York Street, the railroad, Route 83 and St. Charles Road. In the new basin, stormwater will drain into the city's system after a storm and go on its "merry way" to the pump station across Route 83, City Engineer Kent Johnson said at the virtual meeting about the College View project. Johnson read a question from a resident who expressed concern about flooding on Hawthorne Avenue near the high school. Johnson said the hydraulic modeling shows the water on that street going beyond sidewalks, but not far enough to do damage. "I think most of the models show (the water) gets very close to the house, but not in. These models are not 100 percent perfect. We do the very best we can, and that's why we use historic pictures and information," Johnson said. "If you live on Hawthorne and water fills up enough and it touches and gets in your house, please get in touch with us." During the meeting, Alderman Jim Kennedy said College View would be the fourth project that includes underground detention of water. While growing up in Elmhurst, he said, his family often worried about flooding when storm clouds brewed. As for the College View project, he said, "there will be dust and a little bit of chaos, but in a very short amount of time, we will be able to complete this project and provide you with the confidence that you have a solution in place."