Lake Ellyn to be drained for project to prevent overflowing
Glen Ellyn will drain Lake Ellyn and rely on Mother Nature to refill it before a cardboard boat race and Fourth of July fireworks launch near its shores.
The man-made lake will be emptied to allow crews to replace a structure where water exits underground at its north end. The project is designed to reduce the chances of the lake overflowing into surrounding streets and neighborhoods during major storms, engineers say.
The village board has unanimously awarded a $555,000 contract to a Batavia contractor, Earthwerks Land Improvement & Development Corp., the lone bidder. Trustees also agreed to pay RHMG Engineers, Inc. up to $69,000 to help oversee the work.
Water now is released from the lake at a maximum rate of about 50 cubic feet per second. Construction of a new, larger outlet control structure will increase the peak rate to about 90 to 95 cubic feet per second, or roughly 62 million gallons a day.
Water also will funnel through two storm sewers, one of which was previously plugged on both ends and will be reconnected to the structure. Eventually, water flows into Perry's Pond and ends up in the DuPage River's east branch.
The village already has received a $245,000 grant administered by DuPage County's Community Development Commission. The county also has earmarked an additional $255,000 that officials are confident the village will receive.
Work could begin in April, and with "decent weather," crews could finish their job by mid-May, giving "as much opportunity for Mother Nature to refill the lake," before a July 2 cardboard boat regatta, said Bob Minix, the village's professional engineer.
"It doesn't take a lot of rainfall to fill the lake," Minix said. "A couple of 1-inch-plus rainfalls will be sufficient to completely fill the lake."
Under the contract with Earthwerks, the village also will bill the park district for a separate project that commissioners approved by a 5-1 vote Tuesday. That tab is expected to cost up to $100,000.
As the upgrades are made at the north end, crews will clean out two catch basins where stormwater flows into the lake on the southeast and southwest corners, park district Executive Director Dave Harris said.
The underwater basins act like a filter to trap heavy debris and sediment before water spills into the rest of the lake. The park district has been told they should be cleaned out every five to 10 years.
"We're really up against the latter years that we should be doing this," Harris said.
The park district expects to see some cost savings by doing the work at the same time as the village's project because it's far cheaper to clean the basins when the lake is empty, Harris said. Another firm estimated the cost of the project at $500,000 if the lake was filled.
Commissioner Jay Kinzler was the lone "no vote," saying the project should be rebid so officials could consider more than one proposal.
"That's really the only insurance to the taxpayer that you're getting the lowest possible bid," he said.
"More bids would be better," Commissioner Gary Mayo countered, "but it's not like we're looking at this one bid in a vacuum."
Village officials also say rebidding the work likely won't result in lower prices.