Elmhurst, DuPage County work together to alleviate flooding

A massive reservoir in Elmhurst long has been used to keep Salt Creek inside its banks.

But while the Elmhurst Quarry Flood Control Facility along Route 83 was doing its job keeping Oak Brook and other downstream towns dry, residents living just blocks away were dealing with chronic flooding.

So Elmhurst Mayor Steve Morley in fall 2014 reached out to DuPage County, which owns and operates the reservoir, with a straightforward request: He wanted to know if the city could run a pipe directly into the quarry.

More than two years later, the pipe has been installed to carry stormwater away from a nearby neighborhood of 76 houses during heavy rains.

Morley said during a recent visit to the facility that he was thankful county officials allowed Elmhurst to tap into the quarry.

"We were able to show the residents of Elmhurst immediate relief," Morley said. "We were able show them immediate progress as it related to their problem."

DuPage County Board Chairman Dan Cronin said the project is a good example of government collaboration.

"It was not a difficult decision," Cronin said. "It was the right thing to do. I'm glad that we could help."

Morley initially reached out to the county after Elmhurst experienced widespread flooding during storms in summer 2010 and April 2013.

An engineering firm hired by the city developed a plan to help 13 flood-prone areas. The most cost-effective solution identified to reduce flooding in those areas is to create storage in open spaces throughout the community, city officials said.

"If you're having flooding in a certain area, you try to find the next closest place to store that water," Morley said.

One of the open spaces identified in the plan was the county-owned quarry. Running a pipe into the facility would benefit houses a few blocks east of the facility along Walnut Street, Myrtle Avenue and Evergreen Avenue.

The only problem was that the reservoir already had a sole use.

The facility was purchased in 1991 from Elmhurst-Chicago Stone Co. for $41 million as part of a larger effort to alleviate flood concerns along Salt Creek. After more than three years of construction, the reservoir was used for the first time in 1996.

When Morley reached out to the county, officials first had to make sure the facility had enough storage capacity to handle the additional water.

"The last thing we wanted to do was to put more water in there and then have flooding downstream during a big (rain) event," said county board member Jim Zay, who is chairman of the county's stormwater management committee.

It was determined that Elmhurst's proposal would use just 0.25 percent of the reservoir's 2.7 billion-gallon capacity.

The county also contacted officials in towns downstream to see if they were OK with Elmhurst's request. All those towns responded favorably.

"Once they did the engineering and figured it out, it was a pretty easy concept," Zay said. "Elmhurst has always been a great partner working with the county."

Elmhurst ended up spending roughly $5 million to construct the relief storm sewer.

Morley says that amount is far cheaper than what the city would have spent on other proposals to alleviate flooding in that area.

And while 76 homeowners were helped directly, Morley said the project is providing a broader benefit to the community.

"Taking that pressure off the system helps the entire system," Morley said. "Every drop of water that you can hold out of the system during an event helps everybody."