Flooded areas returning to normal in Lake County
One day after heavy rain from an early-morning storm caused flooding in southern Lake County, officials said those areas are slowly returning to normal.
One of the hardest hit communities was Lake Zurich, but Kent McKenzie, the county’s director of emergency management, said floodwaters are receding.
“Things are returning to normal as far as we can tell,” McKenzie said. “We haven’t had any reports for assistance from Lake Zurich, and our involvement has been minimal since yesterday, so they have things well in hand.”
Strong storms dumped heavy rain on McHenry, Lake and northern Cook counties early Wednesday. National Weather Service reports show rainfall totals of as much as 6.63 inches in Lake Zurich and 7.62 inches in Crystal Lake.
That led to flash floods in many neighborhoods and caused water levels to rise on the Des Plaines River and Chain O’ Lakes.
The Des Plaines River topped out in Lincolnshire at just above flood stage, with minimal damage reported, McKenzie said.
“Water was on the pavement in some locations in Lincolnshire, but have since receded,” he said.
Along the Chain, water spilled onto some lawns in low-lying areas in Antioch, Lake Villa and Fox Lake, he said, but home damage is expected to be minimal.
Water on the upper and lower Fox River — between the Chain and Algonquin Dam — was high and the Fox Waterway Agency imposed a no wake restriction.
No wake means boats are allowed to go on the section of the river, but must not travel at speeds more than 5 mph to avoid creating a wake.
In Lake Zurich, officials said a sanitary lift station was back online after failing during Wednesday’s flooding in the Braemar subdivision, north of Cuba Road and west of Ela Road. Officials said Thursday repairs were made and the station was operating at normal capacity.
“I am very pleased that we were able to repair the Braemar lift station as quickly as we did,” Mayor Thomas Poynton said. “I appreciate the hard work of our public works staff. I am also very grateful to Lake County for their assistance in helping the village during this time of need.”
Lake Zurich’s flooding won’t affect Braemar’s annual neighborhood garage sale, which runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday, organizer Kim Gallo said.
“The neighborhood is clear and we’re hoping for a lot of traffic,” Gallo said Thursday.
Lake Zurich residents have been asked to complete a data collection questionnaire available on the village’s website.