Elmhurst flood control plan poised for approval

Elmhurst is poised to get permission to tap into a reservoir owned and operated by DuPage County so the city can prevent dozens of homes from flooding.

DuPage County Board members next week are expected to approve an intergovernmental agreement that will allow Elmhurst to run a pipe into the Elmhurst Quarry Flood Control Facility along Route 83.

Once installed, the pipe will carry stormwater away from a nearby neighborhood of about 76 houses during heavy rains.

"The residents have some issues, and this is a relatively inexpensive fix - to be able to use the quarry to alleviate their neighborhood problems," said county board member Paul Fichtner, whose district includes Elmhurst.

The 33-acre quarry was purchased in 1991 from Elmhurst-Chicago Stone Co. for $41 million as part of a larger effort to alleviate flood concerns along Salt Creek. However, the subdivision next to the quarry continued to experience flooding after the facility opened in 1996.

The idea of letting Elmhurst use the quarry during heavy storms has been talked about for years. This time, Elmhurst Mayor Steven Morley reached out to Fichtner, who serves on the county's stormwater management committee.

Fichtner then asked the stormwater panel to consider Elmhurst's request. On Tuesday morning, the committee voted unanimously to recommend approval of the intergovernmental agreement.

What makes the proposal possible is that it would use just 0.25 percent of the reservoir's 2.7-billion-gallon capacity.

"It takes a very small amount of the storage at the quarry," stormwater management committee Chairman Jim Zay said. "So it made sense."

The county did contact officials in Villa Park, Oak Brook and other towns downstream to see if they're OK with Elmhurst's request. All those towns responded favorably.

Zay said Elmhurst will pay all the costs associated with designing and constructing the relief storm sewer.

"They are paying for all of the work on it," Zay said. "We're just granting them the ability to use it."

The Elmhurst project isn't expected to lead to similar requests from other communities. Fichtner said it wouldn't be feasible from a cost or engineering standpoint to run pipes from other towns into the quarry.