Bartlett wrapping up designs for flood-control project

Bartlett officials are prepping for a long-awaited project this fall to relieve flooding in an area of town swamped by heavy rains in 2008.

A village-hired engineering firm is putting the last touches on designs for a $5.1 million plan funded largely by a Federal Emergency Management Agency grant.

Christopher B. Burke Engineering Ltd. also is in the midst of securing permits from the village to overhaul wetland on two vacant properties east of Prospect Avenue: the so-called Geller parcel south of the Metra train tracks, as well as about 12 acres of open space north of the tracks owned by the village of Streamwood. The latter property was annexed into Bartlett last year to meet the requirements of the FEMA grant that the project be in one municipality's boundaries, officials say.

The Streamwood site isn't suited for development, Streamwood Village Manager Gary O'Rourke said. Retaining ownership gives the village a say in any additional flood-relief projects down the road, he said.

"It's a great example of communities working together on something that's a benefit to the region, not just one or the other," O'Rourke said.

The Rosemont-based firm has called for excavating the wetland areas to make way for better storage of stormwaters. The village's plan commission will hold a public hearing on those aspects of the project July 10.

During downpours, the upgrades will allow excess water to flow "more efficiently" from the Hearthwood Farms subdivision and into the Geller parcel, said Darren Olson, a Burke representative. From there, water will slowly drain into the village's storm sewer system.

In September 2008, floods drenched Bartlett, damaging Hearthwood town homes and single-family homes near Prospect and North Avenues and prompting the then-mayor to declare a state of emergency. The village's northeast side was hit again in July 2010.

"These improvements … will primarily keep the flooding out of those town homes that happened so severely twice," Bartlett Mayor Kevin Wallace said.

Further north, plans call for building a berm near the intersection of Crest and Taylor avenues, where storms have left pools of water on roads.

If the firm obtains the permits, construction could begin in November 2014 and wrap up a year later.

The FEMA grant will kick in $3.8 million, with the village covering $1.3 million.