After weekend floods, Mount Prospect planning up to $8 million in sewer upgrades
In the wake of weekend flooding caused by what one Mount Prospect official called a "100-year storm event," village leaders are planning as much as $8 million in storm sewer improvements for neighborhoods near the Des Plaines River.
Officials announced Tuesday they will hold a public information meeting June 26 to discuss and solicit input on the first of two $3 million to $4 million projects aimed at improving the flow of rain water to Levee 37. The project involves pipe upgrades and the construction of a detention basin in the storm sewer system tributary to Pump Station 1, just north of Euclid Avenue along the levee.
The meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at the Burning Bush Community Center, 1313 N Burning Bush Lane.
A second project, also expected to cost $3 million to $4 million, would make similar upgrades leading to Pump Station 2, just south of Seminole Lane.
The village is seeking grants to help pay for the work.
In a message to residents Tuesday, Director of Public Works Sean Dorsey said both pump stations and the levee system as a whole performed as expected early Saturday morning when the village was inundated with a little more than 4 inches of rain in a two-hour period.
"The fact that the flooding occurred on neighborhood streets while the levee system operated uneventfully reveals constriction in the storm sewer collection system," Dorsey wrote. "The rain event can be characterized as a 100-year storm. However, the existing inlets, catch basins, and pipes in the storm sewer system are not designed to collect and convey such a large volume without temporary surface storage."
Besides the proposed storm sewer upgrades, the village, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Illinois Department of Natural Resources are partnering to upgrade the levee pump stations, according to Dorsey. Design work is expected to start this year to quadruple the pump discharge capacity. State and federal sources will pay for the $3 million project.
"The village remains committed to addressing flooding concerns in the areas near Levee 37," Dorsey wrote.