Army corps seeks input on DuPage River flooding
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is having public scoping meetings in DuPage and Will counties to gather public comment on the DuPage River Flood Risk Management Feasibility Study.
Public meetings will begin at 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 16, at the Bolingbrook Golf Club, 2001 Rodeo Drive, Bolingbrook; 6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 17, in the auditorium of DuPage County's JTK Administration Building, 421 N. County Farm Road, Wheaton; and 6 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 18, in the board room at the Shorewood Village Hall, 1 Towne Center, Shorewood.
The study will investigate overbank and backwater flooding along the DuPage River and its major tributaries, focusing on prioritizing high risk areas and developing a range of possible structural and nonstructural alternatives to address flooding.
Communities within DuPage County where flooding will be evaluated include, but are not limited to: Bartlett, Carol Stream, Glen Ellyn, Hanover Park, Lisle, Lombard, Naperville, Roselle, Warrenville, West Chicago, Westmont, Winfield and Woodridge.
Communities within Will County include, but are not limited to: Bolingbrook, Joliet, Romeoville, Crest Hill, Plainfield, Minooka, Channahon, Plainfield Township, and Wheatland Township.
A range of possible solutions will be evaluated, including floodwater storage, levees or flood walls, diversion channels, channel modifications, flow control structures, flood-proofing, structure elevations and buyouts.
Using input obtained during the scoping period, the Army Corps of Engineers will refine the areas of focus for the study and identify significant resources in the watershed. Issues associated with the study are likely to include flooding at homes and businesses, access to emergency services and critical facilities during flood events, and effects on existing natural and cultural resources in the watershed.
The DuPage River and tributaries drain approximately 353 square miles in suburban Cook, DuPage and Will counties. The study area has experienced rapid development over the past several decades and currently includes 40 communities and approximately 900,000 residents.
Major storm events occurred in the basin in 1996, 2008, 2009 and, most recently, in April 2013, resulting in overbank flooding in at least 20 communities and causing significant damage to residential and nonresidential structures, critical infrastructure and the closure of two major interstate highways (I-80 and I-55) for several days.
Residents who wish to send written comments regarding the DuPage River Feasibility Study should mail them no later than Monday, Nov. 30, to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, ATTN: Planning (Bullock), 231 S. LaSalle St., Suite 1500, Chicago, IL 60604, or send an email to chicagodistrict.pao@usace.army.mil.
For information, contact the Army Corps of Engineers' Public Affairs Office at (312) 846-5330 or chicagodistrict.pao@usace.army.mil.