Mount Prospect mulls how to fix flooding caused by levee

Mount Prospect is looking at how it can provide additional flood protection to vulnerable residents near Levee 37 on the Des Plaines River.

But the reality is that public hearings, getting cooperation from other agencies and taxing bodies, and the sheer cost of the project make it unlikely a solution will arrive soon.

The levee, while protecting many Mount Prospect homes from river floodwater, has created a problem for 23 homes where stormwater (not river water) collects in streets and yards. The levee makes it harder for that water to be drained into the river, its natural destination.

On Tuesday, village board members were presented the results of a drainage study conducted by Christopher B. Burke Engineering.

Several alternatives were presented by Christopher Burke himself. Two of them were recommended: Upgrading the capacity of one of the three Levee 37 pumping stations and building a stormwater facility at a cost of $3.6 million; and upgrading another pumping station and constructing a facility there, at a cost of $2.1 million.

The proposal could involve using open land owned by park or school districts for construction sites.

Trustees, though, were concerned at the cost, and the time involved. Trustee Paul Hoefert said that with public hearings and other taxing bodies and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers all getting involved, getting the problem solved could take years.

"This just seems like a lot of money to be spent," Hoefert said, adding maybe the solution lies with individual at-risk homes, many of which have below-grade garages.

"There should be a way to solve this individually - and then you don't have to disrupt the neighborhood, you don't have to deal with other taxing bodies, risking other neighborhoods potentially, if it flows over," he added.

Burke said historically, stormwater has flowed to the Des Plaines River at the rate of 240 cubic feet per second, dating back to before the neighborhood was annexed into Mount Prospect in 1971.

But, as Trustee Steven Polit noted, "Now we know that there were other problems. It just wasn't riverbed overflowing, there was other things going on."

Burke agreed, and said that during intense storms in 2008, 2010, 2011 and 2013 the river wasn't over its bank.

During the April 2013 storm, the three pumping stations were unable to handle all the water, with portable pumps brought in for reinforcement.