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Carol Stream may be moving toward flood relief

Carol Stream residents demanded answers shortly after downpours in 2008 and 2010 that left some of their homes and streets flooded.

Elected officials promised some relief, and last September, the DuPage County Board sanctioned $5 million in spending for flood control efforts at Armstrong Park — located in one of the village’s most flood-prone areas.

So far, plans to install a water reservoir and pumping station at the southern end of the park have been slow to develop. But they could get a kick-start next month.

That’s when details of the project will be confirmed through an intergovernmental agreement that officials from the county, village and park district will consider.

Preliminary plans call for construction of two reservoirs of 15 and 100 acre-feet, a pump station, and a 60-inch diameter siphon that would discharge detained stormwater from the reservoirs to a downstream point in Klein Creek.

The system won’t eliminate flooding, but it will reduce its likelihood, said Sarah Ruthko, the county’s project engineer.

“When you receive a storm like September 2008 or July 2010, you see more massive flooding,” Ruthko said. “This will reduce the amount that will get to that level.”

In March, the county’s stormwater management committee authorized two contracts, totaling $656,000, for professional engineering services for the project’s design. But the contractors haven’t begun their work because there’s been a delay in approving the three-party agreement for the project, Ruthko said.

“There’s been a lot of reviews by attorneys,” Ruthko said. “Engineers have been trying to come up with an agreement, but attorneys speak a different language.”

The new flood mitigation infrastructure would take up 20 acres of the 72-acre park, where many park district amenities, such as a volleyball court and sled hill, are located, said Julie Vogl, the park district’s spokeswoman.

She said the county wanted that land for free.

“The park district can’t turn it over and give up amenities people paid for,” Vogl said. “The park district needs to take care of its residents and their needs for recreation, and the county wants to take care of its residents, too.

“It’s not like we’re fighting each other. Each side has to make sure (the project) meets their budget and their needs,” she said.

Stormwater Committee Chairman Jim Zay said the park district has had several different designs for the revamped park, and there’s been disagreement because “they didn’t know what they wanted.”

Under the current plan, the park district would only lose one of six ball fields at the park, Zay said.

But he said he thinks both sides are coming close to an agreement.

Ruthko said all parities involved are just trying to make sure the project is done properly.

“They were elected to protect the interests of those they serve,” she said.

She said she hopes construction could begin by next summer.

  Installation of a water reservoir and pumping station has been proposed for Armstrong Park in Carol Stream, where significant flooding occurred in 2008 and 2010. Bev Horne/bhorne@dailyherald.com
  Installation of a water reservoir and pumping station has been proposed for Armstrong Park in Carol Stream, where significant flooding occurred in 2008 and 2010. Bev Horne/bhorne@dailyherald.com