Lake Zurich approves drainage study for area whacked by June flood
Lake Zurich village trustees have authorized a study on drainage in an area near Quentin Road hit hard by flooding last month.
Officials at a meeting Monday night approved paying $37,900 to Manhard Consulting Ltd. to perform the drainage study in the Cedar Creek subdivision. Officials said Manhard — a civil engineering, water resources management and surveying firm — came in with the lowest price of three responsible bidders.
“This is the study we said we’d do a couple of years ago but never did,” Mayor Thomas Poynton said.
Manhard’s first-phase study is expected to take six to nine months. After the consultant issues a recommendation, the study’s second phase could go another six to nine months.
Public works manager Mike Brown acknowledged the timeline may not be as swift as residents would like but said the study can’t be rushed.
Flooding was most severe near Stone Avenue and Thistle Lane in Cedar Creek, just north of Bristol Trail Road. However, resident Don Mason said the village should examine more than just the subdivision’s Stone-Thistle intersection because floodwater traveled to where he lives on Stanton Court.
“It’s definitely a problem,” Mason said.
Resident Jeff Faetz said he hopes the village does something about flooding. He said his home sustained $50,000 to $60,000 in damage for the second time in about six years and that problems are evident in a storm sewer by his property.
“We can never sell the home,” Faetz said.
Some Cedar Creek residents have said problems have been escalating over the past 10 years in the area near Quentin Road. They said they are frustrated with water that backs up from storm sewers onto the streets when heavy rain hits.
Other parts of Lake Zurich also experienced flooding problems. Floodwater caused the failure of two sanitary lift stations in the Braemar subdivision, north of Cuba Road and west of Ela Road, and damaged the village hall’s lower level.
National Weather Service reports showed 6.63 inches of rain fell on Lake Zurich early in the morning June 26, making it one of the hardest-hit communities in the Northwest suburbs.
Village board members Monday night also authorized spending $59,212 to replace a damaged control panel for the sanitary lift station pumps serving the Braemar subdivision. The significant damage occurred after water submerged the control panel.
Plans call for a replacement control panel to be manufactured and installed. The village has been renting a control panel to keep the pumps operating.
Lift stations elevate wastewater and runoff, sending it to higher ground toward a treatment facility.
Twitter: @DHBobSusnjara