During heavy rains, some Robbins neighborhoods resemble a lake, with boats being required to evacuate residents, according to Mayor Darren Bryant.
Hundreds of Robbins residents pay for flood insurance, including many homeowners whose properties are not prone to flooding but are still in the flood plain, he said.
A $20 million project now underway involving the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District and the Army Corps of Engineers is meant to make those problems a thing of the past, and at the same time create new recreational opportunities for residents with the development of a park that will also be a holding area for stormwater runoff.
About 20 acres of the planned 52-acre park, a half-mile north of the Robbins Metra station, at 139th Street and Utica Avenue, will be earmarked for water retention, and plans call for picnic areas, hiking and biking trails and a field for the Robbins Eagles youth football organization. Their “home” games are now played in the nearby suburb of Calumet Park, the mayor said.
According to the MWRD, the project will remove about 140 acres from the flood plain and remove more than 1,300 parcels from the 100-year flood plain.
The flood control pond will be built east of Kedzie between 135th and 137th streets and north of Midlothian Creek. The Robbins Stormwater Park will allow for a naturalized wetland detention area along with channel improvements to resemble a parklike setting in central Robbins, according to the MWRD.
Bryant said the section of the village that suffers the worst flooding during a storm is bordered by 137th and 139th streets, with Kedzie Avenue on the west and Utica on the east.
“Whenever we get a heavy rain it’s going to shut down Kedize,” Bryant said.
Bryant said the project is scheduled to be completed in spring 2024 and Robbins is not paying for the work.
Work will include improvements to Midlothian Creek and construction of an overflow channel that connects to the Calumet Sag Channel, according to the MWRD.
Midlothian Creek is a tributary within the Little Calumet River watershed and a large part of Robbins is within the flood plain of Midlothian Creek on top of historical wetlands, according to the district. The flat terrain compounded by a lack of stormwater infrastructure has led to frequent flooding and caused pollution into the waterways, according to the district.
“The Robbins Stormwater Park and Midlothian Creek restoration project will increase the existing stormwater drainage system, mitigate flooding for homes and businesses and strengthen the community in myriad ways,” MWRD President Kari Steele said at the groundbreaking Aug. 12.
The first phase of the project involves the establishment of a diversion channel, with a culvert built under 135th Street, where the channel will connect to a stormwater pond, MWRD officials said.
As construction of the diversion channel is underway, work will begin on the second phase, which includes a stormwater park and pond and conveyance improvements along Midlothian Creek, according to the district.
Plans show work will involve stabilizing 2,200 linear feet of streambank along Midlothian Creek, controlling erosion by cutting back both banks and providing a stable slope that features native plants appropriate to the moisture and soil conditions.
Bioswales will be planted along Spaulding and Sawyer Avenues from 137th to 139th streets, capturing stormwater runoff, according to the district.
A rain garden will also be installed in the 138th Street right of way between Sawyer and Kedzie avenues to absorb more runoff from the bioswales and surrounding area before it can discharge into Midlothian Creek. The rain garden will create more than two acres of bioretention, collecting runoff and other contaminants before it can reach the creek, according to the district.
Bryant said at the groundbreaking the stormwater park will be a positive for Robbins, and that “green infrastructure will get created to help spur economic and recreational development.”
The village anticipates mitigating flooding and providing new recreational spaces “will be a catalyst for our transit-oriented district” adjacent to the Metra station, potentially spurring commercial development, Bryant said.