$1.2 million grant could help fund St. Charles 7th Avenue Creek improvements

A plan to address recurring flooding issues in some St. Charles neighborhoods could become a reality in the next few years with the help of a $1.2 million grant.

The funding, awarded by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, is designated for the first phase of the city's long-awaited 7th Avenue Creek project. That part of the plan calls for acquiring land and making improvements along the creek's corridor from Washington to South 10th avenues, Public Works Director Peter Suhr said.

The proposed upgrades, expected to cost $5.8 million total over the next four years, are intended to mitigate flooding throughout a largely residential area - and the most problematic section of the waterway, Suhr said. Aldermen acting as a committee on Monday unanimously approved accepting the state grant, indicating their intent to move the plans forward.

If the city council ratifies the vote, design work could begin right away, Suhr said. Construction is slated for 2021.

"At the end of the day, the overall goal of the project was to get every commercial and residential property out of the floodplain," he said. "This certainly gets us on our way."

The city's plans to improve the 7th Avenue Creek corridor have been in the works for the last decade, paralleling the Federal Emergency Management Agency's efforts to revise its flood insurance rate maps for the area.

A "significant rain event" in 2008 showed floodplain limits exceeded those outlined in the current FEMA study, Suhr said. Updated maps are expected to go into effect next year.

In turn, the city developed a long-term master plan that calls for building larger culverts, acquiring properties along the creek and creating a parklike "greenway" to help mitigate the impact of a wider floodplain, Suhr said.

The improvements would allow the now-linear waterway to meander more naturally and rise above the bank without affecting homes or commercial properties, he said.

The state grant is earmarked for the greenway and water quality improvements included in the first phase. Some aldermen, including Art Lemke, said they want to have a more detailed discussion about how the city would pay for the remaining $4.6 million. "But I wouldn't reject the funding opportunity," Lemke said.

The city also is seeking additional funding opportunities to help offset project costs, Suhr said.

Future project phases could encompass the 7th Avenue Creek downstream to the Fox River, as well as a segment north to Tyler Road.