Lake Arlington flood pit poses a problem to wildlife

A creek that cuts under Windsor Drive and feeds into Lake Arlington in Arlington Heights can be a wildlife hazard.

That was demonstrated Wednesday when a mother duck and three of her ducklings wandered under the road and found themselves trapped in a pit without food. The ducks then were threatened as water flooded through during Thursday night's rainstorms.

There has been concern for years over animals getting into the pit, but the cause of the problem has not been addressed, one area resident said. Officials said there's a limit to what they can do about the problem.

Public Works Director Scott Shirley said he has seen distressed animals like this for 10 years, including six to seven ducks, and many of the animals have been saved.

"The ducks wander in on the creek side (west side) and get caught in the shaft. They don't know enough to get back out the way they came in so when it rains, they get washed out into the lake." Unfortunately, by then they are usually dead.

Complaints about the trapped ducks started coming in Wednesday afternoon and Shirley contacted the village's animal control department.

"Animal control personnel arrived but did not have the proper equipment to remove the ducks from the 14-foot hole," he said. "I wasn't going to risk a human life to save ducks."

Shirley said that the animal control person said she would come back with better equipment and the fire department so that she could be rescued if anything went wrong. Shirley said he and other officials waited so they could remove grating over the pit, but neither the fire department nor the animal control person returned. By Friday, the ducks were gone.

Kate Weber, who has lived in the area since before the lake existed, said she blames the village for not addressing a situation that could also be a hazard to children.

"I have adult boys now, and when they were little kids, they used to go down there," she said. "The problem with the village is that they are hesitant to take out the small grates because it's expensive to put them in."

Shirley disputed the design poses a risk to children, saying grating would prevent them from entering. But the openings in the grating have to be wide enough so that water and some debris can pass through, he said.

"We can't put in a chicken wire fence because that would catch sticks and cause flooding for people on the other side of the lake," said Shirley. "The wire is properly spaced to prevent kids from climbing through and debris to flow properly."

Still, Weber thinks something could be done. "If it's a man-made hazard that they can correct, then I have a problem with it," she said.