Mundelein again to investigate flooding issues

Following heavy rains that left parts of Mundelein temporarily under water this summer, village officials once again are turning to experts to determine why neighborhoods flooded.

Engineering consultants with HR Green Inc. will examine conditions on Wellington Avenue west of Route 45 and on Park Street near Morris Avenue. Both neighborhoods are on the north side of Mundelein, and they’re a little more than a half-mile from each other.

The streets were particularly hard hit during rainstorms in May, June and July, Village Administrator Eric Guenther said. Although no homes on either block flooded, streets and lawns had standing water, and one home’s garage was flooded, Guenther said.

McHenry-based HR Green already is familiar with Mundelein and its history of flooding problems. After a 2017 storm caused disastrous floods in the Western Slope neighborhood, the firm was brought in to develop solutions. That inquiry led to a $9.2 million flood-control project that included the creation of a massive stormwater detention area on the former site of the U.S. Music Corp. headquarters and the installation of new storm sewers.

“HR Green is the most qualified firm to complete this work due to their previous experience,” Adam Boeche, the village’s public works and engineering director, wrote in a memo.

That flood-prevention project wasn’t designed to relieve hydrological issues on Wellington Avenue or Park Street, which are north of where the detention basin was built, Guenther said.

“Sometimes these smaller pockets pop up,” he said.

The new work is expected to cost the village no more than $36,000, documents indicate. The village board is expected to approve a contract with HR Green on Monday night.