Wetlands helped limit Gurnee flooding
Wetlands have never looked so good to Gurnee Mayor Kristina Kovarik.
Kovarik and other village leaders braced for the worst last week as the Des Plaines River began to rise. Gurnee Park District officials even took a precaution by canceling Friday's farmers market at Esper Petersen Park, just east of the river, because of flooding concerns.
But the Des Plaines didn't exactly roar over its banks. It was more of a gentle growl, as the river hit a peak of 8.9 feet Friday, below the 9-foot level that typically brings water close to Gurnee Grade School on Kilbourne Road.
In addition, the river remained far enough from the point where it sends floodwater to Route 132 near Petersen Park.
Kovarik said credit once again must go the Des Plaines River Wetlands Demonstration Project. Gurnee dodged a similar threat of significant river flooding in April.
"Those wetlands north of us are acting like a sponge," Kovarik said. "They're like a huge shock absorber."
Performing the trick are about 550 acres in Wadsworth. The Des Plaines River Wetlands Demonstration Project is owned by the Lake County Forest Preserve District.
Stagnant farms and rock quarry pits were converted into wetlands as part of a project that began in the 1980s. Kovarik said the amount of wetlands added over the years is now helping Gurnee fend off flooding.
While the forest district owns the land, the privately operated Wetlands Research Inc. funded the project, which is in its final leg east of Route 41 and north of Stearns School Road near Gurnee. Developers for projects elsewhere in need of wetland mitigation credits purchase them from the company for upward of $80,000.
Wetlands Research director Donald Hey said humans aren't the only ones responsible helping stem Des Plaines floodwater. He said impressive new beaver dams north of Gurnee near Wadsworth Road have played a role, slowing the flow of the river downstream toward Gurnee.
Steve Carlson, a Gurnee-area Lake County board member, said severe Des Plaines River flooding would have been likely if not for the Wadsworth property's soaking ability. He's a former Wetlands Research Inc. board member.
"Fly over it with a chopper," Carlson said Monday. "You cannot believe how much water this thing is holding."