Des Plaines River to crest above flood stage, city says

The Des Plaines River will likely jump its banks once again in the city of Des Plaines, that city's emergency management officials predicted Saturday.

As of noon, the river was at 3.8 feet, but is expected to rise to 8 feet by Sunday morning, said Karen Kozenczak, public relations officer for the city. Flood stage is at 5 feet.

In response to the rising waters, the city is placing sand at four locations for residents to utilize in preparation for the flood: Big Bend Drive at the cul-de-sac; Big Ben Drive at Hawthorne Lane; Christ Church at Cora and Henry avenues; River Drive and Stewart Avenue; and at Birchwood Avenue and the river.

In other spots Saturday, the National Weather Service reported the north branch of the Chicago River was above flood stage in Niles, and standing water and basement flooding was reported in multiple locations in Lake, Cook and DuPage County suburbs.

Campton Hills was calling for sandbagging volunteers this morning as signs of rising waters threaten the village.

While the Army Corps of Engineers isn't anticipating a major flood emergency this weekend, municipal and county officials are advising residents to prepare for isolated problems from the coming thaw and rains.

By early Friday morning, public works crews in many suburbs were turning their attention from plowing snow to unblocking stormwater drains along streets and curbs.

In Schaumburg alone, crews were anticipating having to locate and clear approximately 4,000 sewer inlets.

"At this point, we're trying to clear as many inlets as we can," said John Williams, foreman of Schaumburg's streets and signs division. "At least with the plowing, things aren't hidden. A lot of the inlets are hidden. There's been only two days this month without some kind of snow."

Palatine Public Works Director Andy Radetski said punching even the smallest hole in an ice-blocked drain will start a flow of water to help melt the rest.

Because much of the ground is now frozen, water won't seep into soil as easily as at warmer times of the year. Even residents usually free of flooding should be wary of surface water traveling farther to find a sewer drain.

Cook County emergency officials said crews have been clearing sewer caps since Tuesday. Their workers are also carefully monitoring the level of the Des Plaines River.

Lombard public works assistant director Dave Gorman agreed "most people think 50 degrees is a good thing" but noted that a rapid jump in temperature is anything but good when piles of melting snow and ice combine with heavy rains to try to drain into frozen ground.

Gorman said crews have identified areas most prone to flooding and are focusing their efforts there, before spreading out through the rest of the village.

Kane County Emergency Management Director Don Bryant said the best thing homeowners can do right now is make sure their sump pumps are working and clear storm drains in the streets.

The county spent Friday taking inventory of its sand and sandbags. Officials will open the county's emergency operations center at 7 a.m. Saturday and continue to monitor the situation.

Bryant expects local creeks and the Kane County portion of the Fox River to be a bit more of a problem than normal because some sections are partially frozen. In response, officials raised the gates at Stratton Dam to reduce the water flow down into Kane County. That will provide the area with more water storage space.

On Sunday, temperatures are expected to fall once again, providing some relief when water freezes once again.

No weekend problems were expected along the Fox River in Lake or McHenry counties, where the winter lowering of the water level has already occurred to make sure the river freezes correctly.

Hoffman Estates is another village anticipating the need for sandbags in some areas. About 2 inches of rain are expected to fall there between 4 a.m. and midnight Saturday.

A gradual rainfall during this period will be less of a problem than if it all arrived within an hour or two, Hoffman Estates Public Works Director Ken Hari said.

By Friday afternoon, there had still been no activation of the Army Corps of Engineers' emergency status, Chicago-area Public Affairs Officer Lynne Whelan said.

The Army Corps usually acts only when it's called on for help in a flooding situation, typically when there's a need for sandbags, she added.

The Army Corps wasn't anticipating even the Des Plaines River to crest above its flooding level this weekend, Whelan said. But that doesn't mean there couldn't be isolated sewer backups due to capacity issues and blockages, she added.

Protecting homes remains a high priority for many municipalities.

Buffalo Grove Public Works Director Greg Boysen said the big concern is for areas where people have low-lying driveways that allow water to flow back to their homes.

To keep the sewers clear, "we're trying to push the snow back as far as possible with the plows," said Steve Esposito, a Wheaton public works crew supervisor.

Naperville and the greater DuPage County area began a flash flood watch and dense fog advisory late Friday expect it to continue through Saturday evening. Heavy rains were expected to continue until Saturday night.

Naperville City Manager Doug Krieger said representatives of all city emergency agencies "will be on standby throughout the weekend to assist with responding to this situation."

C. Kent McKenzie, emergency management coordinator for Lake County, said a narrow storm band is almost certain to dump 4 inches or so of rain somewhere in the Chicago area. He said his agency participated in many conference calls Friday regarding the possibility of heavy rain and the potential for flooding in Lake County.

"We're watching things very carefully," McKenzie said, "and we'll be prepared to sandbag if we need to."

McKenzie said people living in known flood zones in Lake County should start making preparations in the event a water deluge occurs, but he added he doesn't expect widespread catastrophic flooding in Lake County.

John Loete, the city of Elgin's public works director, said his department will have 10 members of the sewer crew on duty to dig away snow from drains if needed.

"We'll call in as many people we need to do what we can do. (But) we have to wait and see what happens," Loete said.

In Geneva, Bob VanGyseghem, superintendent of the water and sewer division, said public works employees removed snow from catch basins and storm sewers and retrieved pumps and hoses from racks "so that we can get them out quickly in case we need them."

VanGyseghem said the city has a supply of sandbags, but he expected that heavy rain would cause only street flooding, not flooding from the Fox River.

Daily Herald staff writers Cathi Edman, Lee Filas, James Fuller, Nancy Gier, Harry Hitzeman, Rob Olmstead, Nadia Malik and Bob Susnjara contributed to this report.

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