Des Plaines commissions flood study on problem areas

Des Plaines will be conducting a new flood study of three problem areas within the city in an effort to reduce the likelihood of future flooding in those neighborhoods.

The city council recently hired the consulting firm of Christopher B. Burke Ltd. of Rosemont to evaluate areas that experienced excessive overland flooding after 6.8 inches of rain fell during a July 23 storm.

The study areas are Prairie Avenue and First Avenue; Southeast Place and Grant Drive; and Earl Avenue, Forest Avenue, Cindy Lane and Fourth Avenue. The areas are not part of the city's Storm Water Management Master Plan, previously developed by Christopher B. Burke Ltd. to highlight areas prone to flooding and recommend preventive measures.

“We feel that this is a very positive, proactive measure to take at this time,” Des Plaines Mayor Marty Moylan said in a news release. “We recognize that there is a flooding problem in specific areas. We are looking for professionals to study the situation and make an evaluation, and we will determine the city's course of action based on Burke Engineering's findings and our staff's recommendations.”

The city council authorized spending $42,700 for the study, which is being financed through the city's Capital Projects Fund.

Burke will conduct a hydrology and hydraulics study analyzing the movement, distribution and pressure of water in the three affected areas, said Tim Oakley, the city's director of public works and engineering.

The firm will perform a separate drainage analysis on each of the areas, using models to determine the cause of flooding.

The study, expected to take two months, will recommend improvements for those areas to mitigate flooding.

“This administration will continue to do everything we possibly can to understand and prevent future flooding in our community,” Moylan said. “Our staff and consultants will continue to pursue relief from a problem that, unfortunately, is, very often in the hands of Mother Nature.”