Will Arlington Heights residents have to help pay for flood fixes?
Solutions to longtime flooding issues in Arlington Heights will likely require a large investment from the village or the residents - or both.
About 40 residents attended a meeting Wednesday night at village hall to hear the results of a study from CDM Smith Engineering. The study looked at eight neighborhood areas with consistent flooding issues along the village's combined sewer system south of Palatine Road and north of Central Road.
Dan Lau, vice president at CDM Smith, explained two possibilities that could better help those areas handle a 10-year rain event, or 2.1 inches of rain in one hour.
The first solution would include upgrades through relief sewers, meaning adding larger or more pipes to the system to alleviate water during a storm - a solution that could cost the village $13 million.
Another option, Lau said, is to get a buy-in from 440 residents in the affected areas to install overhead sewers to help handle additional rainwater and prevent it from backing up into basements. The overhead sewer solution would cost the village about $11 million if they continued a matching program already in place for residents, but $15 million if they shouldered the entire cost, according to the study.
Installing an overhead sewer can cost between $15,000 and $20,000 for the homeowner, but the village's rebate program reimburses 50 percent of the costs up to $7,500.
Several residents spoke Wednesday about the sewage backups they had in their basements after the July 23, 2011, storm that dumped 2.58 inches of rain in one hour on Arlington Heights and 7½ inches in five hours.
Officials said that even the best fixes could not protect every home from a record-breaking storm like that.
The other issue is village officials have said there is no funding mechanism in place to pay for any fixes the village might decide to implement.
"I'm glad for the study, but I'm a little alarmed that they don't have any money to pay for this," said resident Angela Adelman.
Others said asking residents to share the cost of overhead sewers is too much of a burden.
"I've lived here and paid taxes for 30 years. I think I've paid for my share of the sewers already," Diane Mullins said. "It's pretty unfair to have us pay this."
The results of another study, which examined problem areas north of Palatine Road and south of Central Road, will be presented in another public meeting Feb. 3 with possible costs for fixes.
Later this spring the village board will need to decide which solutions to approve, how much money to spend and where to find the money to pay for it.
"It's a very lengthy process, but I think it will be a very worthwhile process," Village President Tom Hayes said.