Prospect Heights mayor looks to upgrade lift station

Parts of Prospect Heights remained flooded Monday, and Mayor Nick Helmer said he is hoping to buy equipment that will prevent a shutdown of the city’s lift station like the one that occurred Saturday due to a power outage.

The lift station near the city’s Public Works building, south of Palatine Road and west of Milwaukee Avenue, was designed to raise water to a level where it can go down into the Des Plaines River, Helmer said. But power was out at the station for about six hours until a generator was obtained, contributing to the flooding Saturday at condominium communities on the city’s east side, he said.

Parking lots flooded, damaging some cars, said the mayor, and some of the townhouses have lower levels. Steve Skiber, director of building and zoning, said officials did not know yet whether units in those communities were flooded.

He mentioned Wimbledon Estates and River Trails complexes.

Helmer said money from the city’s water fund could be spent to obtain pumps and generators.

City hall was one of the buildings that took on water Saturday when stormwater overran the parking lot that serves as a detention area and rushed in both front and rear entrances, Helmer said. Water went down the stairs into the room where the city council meets. However, that room was dried out in time for Monday night’s council meeting.

An open house and exhibit of vintage aircraft at Chicago Executive Airport was canceled Saturday because the area where hundreds of cars would have parked was saturated, Helmer said. Several people came anyway, and there was enough asphalt area for them to park, he said.

State Rep. Elaine Nekritz, a Northbrook Democrat, found food pantries that were able to take the 2,000 hamburgers and 2,000 hot dogs ready for the event, Helmer added.

A creek and detention ponds in Prospect Heights overflowed after the deluge. Helmer, who declared a state of emergency for the city on Saturday, said he toured the town starting about 4:30 a.m. that day and estimates 27 homes had lower levels flooded and 40 had access in and out of their homes blocked.

Skiber said trees were down in this third major storm, again blocking roads in the city.