Batavia businesses want cofferdam removed

Batavia officials could remove part of the cofferdam near the Wilson Street bridge in the Fox River to try to prevent flooding in the area.

"It doesn't look like we'll need to right now," said Terry Heffron, the city's bridge liaison. "But we're keeping a watchful eye on it."

The contract for the bridge requires that if river flow levels reach a certain point, contractors remove part of the coffer dam -- set up to do work on projects near the sides of the river.

That dam is largely underwater now, but water could flow easier without it in place, Heffron said.

Contractors have to wait until the river level goes down to do work associated with the bridge needed there.

To knock down and reset some of the pilings would require an extra day or day and a half of work, he estimated.

"It's not the end of the world to do that, but it's not as simple and safe as it sounds," he said.

Business owners at Venice Tavern and the One East Wilson building, which had flooding problems last year, said they would like the cofferdam taken out.

Susan Wicklund, one of the owners of One East Wilson, said they were already pumping water out of their basement.

Until last year, "We hadn't flooded in the 18 or 19 years we've been here, including '96," she said. "If they're not sure if it will help or not, it can't hurt."

The Kane County Office of Emergency Management issued an advisory this week that river levels could return to its height in August of last year when homes and businesses flooded.

Last August, contractors were unable to remove part of the dam because it was too dangerous with water levels rising too quickly, Heffron said.