Engineers working with Northfield Township presented several possible water management solutions to residents of the Techny corridor at a recent meeting , hoping to gauge their interest in flood prevention measures.
The affected area ranges roughly from Pleasant Street south to Techny Road, and from Western Avenue east to Prairie Avenue — a neighborhood with about 435 homes, 65 of which experienced “significant” flooding, but over 100 homes could be flooded depending on the severity of the rain event, said John Mayer, a consultant with Engineering Resource Associates.
He presented the options at the Feb. 26 meeting at Northfield Township Road District headquarters.
The most flooding was on Deercrest Lane and nearby between between Central Avenue and Techny Road, according to a map presented.
“The drainage system that was built here, was built in the late ’40s, early ’50s,” said Tim Rueckert, highway commissioner from Northfield Township Road District. “These were all farms around here, that’s how come this is all happening.”
Possible solutions include storing water near the roadways, which would slowly drain to Citation Lake, or combining that with the use of “bioswales” — a ditch engineered with plants and material that can hold water, preventing it from running into the street, Mayer said.
Another fix is to buyout homes and properties, to create one or more drainage basins for the area. But Rueckert said he thought that would be one of the “least palatable” solutions for residents, as he anticipates some won’t want to sell their homes.
An idea proposed was to modify the privately owned Citation Lake to accommodate stormwater and prevent water from rising quickly and the shoreline from eroding, which is already happening, Rueckert said.
Each solution would cost roughly $10 million, and offer equal protection against flooding, according to Rueckert. He said it’s up to residents to guide the township on which solution they’re most in favor of, as each has its own benefits and drawbacks.
He said he thought the underground storage option would be the “least invasive to residents,” as it would involve road construction and not buying homes or making modifications to individual properties.
Rueckert will be seeking a low or no-interest state loan for the project and emergency management grants. The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago has agreed to pay for a percentage, though the amount is under discussion, Rueckert said. He would “love” to have the village of Northbrook involved, as it affects some of the residents.
Northbrook Village Engineer Matt Farmer attended the meeting, but said it was the first time he’d seen the plans that were presented, so it was too early to know whether Northbrook should be involved.
“If there are flooding benefits to Northbrook residents, then that’s something we certainly would consider,” Farmer said in an interview the day after the meeting.
The plan mostly affects those in Northfield Township, but there are some Northbrook residents at the south end of Citation Lake, which gets high water levels, but not flooding, he said. Farmer said there’s backyard and some street flooding by Longvalley and Meadow roads, which are in Northbrook.
“Whether or not the solution that they propose will be beneficial to Longvalley, it’s hard to say until they get something designed,” Farmer said.
Several people in the audience, especially those who live on Citation Lake, objected to their involvement as they said they don’t experience flooding and don’t know anyone who does. They pay to maintain the lake and don’t want to see the fee structures change if the lake modifications are made.
More Top Picks Panasonic Kx Tgd222n
Other residents showed videos on their cell phones of their homes flooding and spoke about the impact.
Karen Weiner and her husband, Rich, told Pioneer Press they’ve spent over $100,000 on flood prevention efforts and clean up from the seven floods they’ve experienced at their home on Central Road.
The water comes up through the toilet and shower and “completely floods” their finished basement — with 18 inches of water on the worst occasion, Karen Weiner said. When they leave for vacation, they put furniture on bricks in case it floods, she said.
The backyard floods, too, nearly up to the house, she explained. They think it’s worse because they installed storm drains, causing stormwater from their neighbor’s yards to drain into theirs.
“We’ve had a beaver swimming in our backyard,” Karen Weiner said. “We’ve had ducks.”
The Weiners were interested in the underground storage solution, but want to see some kind of a combination of the solutions, they said.
Rueckert said residents have to cooperate with each other. Whatever resident’s decide, they will follow, he said.
“In the community we have to work together because the water’s coming through all of our properties in one form or another,” he said.
The township is asking for residents’ feedback in an online survey. To take the survey, email Rueckert at [email protected].