Flood control project keeps hitting snags

Local officials and residents linked concrete barriers and piled sandbags last week to fend off the rising Des Plaines River in Mount Prospect and Prospect Heights.

The water has receded, but now those people feel they are getting soaked by the state and federal government.

On Wednesday, officials from both towns joined state and county officials to complain about the loss of funding for the Levee 37 project on the Des Plaines River and the National Park Service's veto of a related flood control project upstream.

Last week, Gov. Rod Blagojevich took back $100,000 committed to state Rep. Elaine Nekritz, who had earmarked it for the $20 million Levee 37 project, a levee and flood wall stretching along the river from Euclid Avenue to Palatine Road.

The $100,000 would have been used, mainly by Prospect Heights, to buy land.

Meanwhile, near Long Grove, the National Park Service has stopped the Buffalo Creek Reservoir expansion project, which officials say is needed in order for Levee 37 to be built.

The park service vetoed the expansion of the reservoir, saying the project would violate the terms of a grant it gave the Lake County Forest Preserve in 1993 to develop the area for public use: trails, parking, water wells, signs, reforestation and the restoration of prairie and aquatic habitat.

Expanding the reservoir would dramatically change the project and convert the area to something other than public outdoor recreation -- a conversion that would need the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, the park service ruled.

But, local officials say, it would also help prevent flooding downstream.

Representatives of the park service could not be reached Wednesday.

On Wednesday, Mount Prospect Mayor Irvana Wilks and Long Grove Village President Maria Rodriguez joined Nekritz and others on River Road to call for help in reversing both decisions.

Also there was Prospect Heights City Administrator Pam Arrigoni, who said, "The levee is needed, not sandbaggers."

"It is so very important that we keep this project moving to keep these people safe from flooding and to give them a little peace of mind," she said.

If Prospect Heights can't get the state money it will try to find $100,000 elsewhere, perhaps taking out a loan, Arrigoni said.

Mount Prospect Village Engineer Jeff Wulbecker said the land is needed to access the levee property.

Roy Deda, deputy for project management for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, said Levee 37, which has been 20 years in the making, could be under construction by next spring.

Cook County Commissioner Timothy Schneider had harsh words for Blagojevich.

"I find it somewhat unconscionable that the governor can provide for skating rinks and pay raises for himself and take money away from projects like Levee 37," he said.

But Justin DeJong, budget spokesman for Gov. Blagojevich, said the budget the governor approved last week contains nearly $28 million for flood control efforts in fiscal year 2008.

Part of the $28 million, he said, is $1.8 million included for the levee.

"What is significant is that an additional $3.7 million in capital money for that levee was not re-appropriated for the project in the budget passed by the General Assembly," DeJong said. "These are existing dollars for existing projects that need to be re-appropriated in order to fund the project's needs as work continues on the levee from one year to the next."

The River Road news conference was held as concrete barriers along the Des Plaines River were taken down, finally opening the road to traffic.

Rodriguez said Long Grove initially opposed the Buffalo Creek reservoir expansion but said the plan proposed by the Lake County Forest Preserve is "outstanding." The reservoir still would have public use, with expanded walking trails and upgraded wetlands, she said.

Wilks said Mount Prospect set aside money in its budget to buy property for Levee 37, but the levee cannot be completed until the Buffalo Creek Reservoir is expanded.

Wulbecker said Buffalo Creek was the logical site for storage, since it would also benefit communities in Lake County affected by flooding from Buffalo Creek.

"The wall is going to prevent the river from coming into this area, inundating 200 homes in Mount Prospect and a number of properties up in Prospect Heights," he said.

Nekritz said the Secretary of the Interior has the right to change the decision.

"So it's a matter of making sure they understand that we shouldn't have a $190,000 grant holding up a $20 million project," she said.

Nekritza said federal officials, including local congressmen Mark Kirk and Melissa Bean and U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, are expected to help.

"The good news is that Mount Prospect has money in its budget," Nekritz said. "(But) Prospect Heights is a community that struggles for every dime."