Arlington Heights residents hopeful village can address flooding issues

After years of flooding and waiting for study results, Arlington Heights residents are hopeful some proposed improvements will be done in the future.

Dozens of residents attended a public meeting Wednesday to hear results of a Christopher Burke Engineering study of seven separated sewer areas in town with solutions that could total $16.3 million.

Resident Dan Walsh said he has had up to several feet of water in his basement many times in the past decade and has been asking the village for help for years.

“I just hope it will finally happen,” Walsh said.

The study outlines small fixes for some areas, such as adding inlets or connecting to existing storm sewers, which could cost less than $100,000. On the other hand, another proposed solution would extend the University Drive detention basin into a village-owned parcel or vacant lot at a cost of up to $6.8 million.

“Even in a moderate storm, water gets in the backyard and gets in the house — it's very stressful,” resident Alex Kukuy said. “Hopefully they fix it, because we really need it.”

Last month, results of another study done by CDM Smith on the consolidated sewer system in the central area of Arlington Heights was presented with solutions that could cost either $11 million or $13 million, with the possibility of additional costs for residents.

The problem, village officials have said, is there is no funding for any of the solutions outlined in the two studies, which were both commissioned years ago after a massive rain event in July 2011.

“This is an important and complex project,” Village Manager Randy Recklaus said.

In the next few months, the village board will have to discuss how to prioritize solutions from the studies, decide which ones to do and figure out how to pay for them. Possibilities to cover costs include government grants, issuing bonds or creating a stormwater utility tax.

Resident Denise Whitefield said she hopes some of the solutions suggested by the consultants are implemented because every time it rains, she gets nervous about her house.

“It's a little disconcerting that there's no funds for the fixes so that makes me feel kind of hopeless,” Whitefield said.