Elmhurst Public Works Committee members heard this week from city staff that several flood abatement projects are nearly complete and already able to take stormwater while construction is beginning on the long-awaited flood control project at Golden Meadows Park.
Ald. Jim Kennedy, Public Works Committee chairman, and members Michael Bram, Marti Deuter and Norm Leader listened Monday and asked occasional questions as city engineer Kent Johnson and director of public works Howard Killian reviewed progress on several flood abatement projects.
Johnson began the project review with a report and photos of the detention basin under construction north of School District 205’s Madison Early Childhood Education Center.
The project is expected to provide more than six acre-feet of stormwater storage at an estimated cost of $2.3 million.
Johnson said crews are working now in the bottom of the basin mixing sand and soil to make sure the area drains quickly after any storm event. Work has also started on fencing around the project. When complete, the basin will provide a mixed use recreational area with room for soccer and softball.
The Madison basin is intended to work in conjunction with additional work along Washington Street to the north to provide flood relief for more than 60 homes in that area. The city bought and demolished three homes there to install underground detention vaults to provide additional flood control.
The neighborhood has been the site of severe and repeated flooding in the last several years and was described late last year as the worst in the city in terms of flood risk. The underground system will provide three acre-feet of storage.
Washington Street has been torn up for some time for installation of both new and replacement storm sewers and intakes, but Johnson said re-paving of the street is scheduled to begin next week.
Another project which is essentially complete is the detention basin on the west side of York Commons Park, which will provide flood relief for homes on Crescent and Cambridge avenues north of the park. The basin will provide nearly 11 acre-feet of temporary stormwater storage, protecting about 38 homes at an estimated construction cost of $2.1 million.
Johnson said park district officials have signed off on a controversial shut-off valve they insisted be installed in the project.
Johnson also reported that construction has finally begun on the long-awaited Golden Meadows Park project east of downtown Elmhurst, intended to relieve flooding for about 30 homes on Pine Street, Avon Road and East Court by providing over 12 acre-feet of stormwater detention.
“It’s in its infancy,” Johnson told committee members, “but some work is underway.”
The project has moved slowly as the city and the Elmhurst Park District worked through a complicated appraisal process to agree on a value for the western portion of the park the city eventually purchased. That process led to an agreed value for the land of $1.7 million. With an estimated construction cost of $2.6 million, the total project cost is expected to cost about $4.3 million.
Graydon Megan is a freelancer.
