Completion of a stormwater detention pond in Glenwood will help reduce flooding in the southeast area of the village and boost future development, officials said during a ribbon cutting ceremony Monday.
The $1.39 million project — funded jointly by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Glenwood — expanded a regional detention basin east of Halsted Street and south of 187th Street on village-owned land.
The Corps provided $1.17 million of the funding and Glenwood the rest, and Mayor Toleda Hart said the work provides “critical drainage improvements” to an area of the village prone to flooding.
She said that the expansion of the detention pond also will help the village attract additional business development to the area by providing additional stormwater storage. The pond is to the east of businesses, including an Aldi grocery store and a WingStop that is preparing to open, and additional village-owned land is available nearby for development, Hart said.
After officials snipped a ceremonial red ribbon to mark the project’s completion, the mayor said Glenwood is looking at different options for development, with senior housing being one proposal considered.
Col. Kenneth Rockwell, commander of the Army Corps Chicago District, said the project, which wrapped up July 7, addresses “longstanding concerns about stormwater and flooding in this neighborhood.”
“This project is a great example of what we can accomplish when federal, local and private partners work together to improve community resilience,” he said.
Hart said work is nearly completed on another flood control project that will also benefit the village.
That work involves a nearby levee at George Arquilla Park that is supposed to protect homes and other structures from flooding along Thorn Creek. The park and levee are just a few blocks east of the detention pond expanded by the Corps of Engineers.
Officials from Glenwood and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District have scheduled a ribbon cutting for Aug. 25 to mark the levee’s completion.
More than 1,200 feet long, the levee curves around the north and west sides of the park and is designed to contain water when Thorn Creek floods over its banks. The levee will protect 29 structures, including homes on the other side of the seven-foot-high levee, according to the MWRD.
The district provided $3.5 million toward the project’s total cost of $5.1 million, and along with the levee it includes 1,000 feet of new storm sewers.
