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A lot of rain in a short period of time.
That in a nutshell is what put La Grange under water during four major storms this summer.
Residents packed the Village Hall auditorium Monday, Oct. 18, for a special meeting with village staff and representatives of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District for an explanation of why their basements flooded and what the village planned to do to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
They learned there’s no sure-fire solution to keeping basements dry.
Simply put, Public Works Director Ryan Gillingham explained how the village’s sewer system was no match for heavy rains that fell June 2, June 23, July 24 and Aug. 3. Flooding was reported in all sections of the village, he said, despite the fact that televised examination of the sewer system revealed no blockage that could account for flooding problems.
Manju Sharma, MWRD acting director of maintenance and operations, said data showed that the area experienced more occasions of a lot of rain falling in a shorter time.
As a result, municipal sewer systems cannot keep up because most were not designed to handle that volume of water in the time needed for it to pass through the system, village engineer Tom Heuer said.
“The sewer system in La Grange is an old and often overwhelmed system,” Heuer said. “When the sewer system is overloaded, it will flood.”
While Heuer called the system “old and overwhelmed,” he said it’s not faulty or poorly designed, simply designed to a turn-of-the century standard.
“It would not be practical to replace everything,” he said.
As a result, the village has developed relief sewer projects designed to enhance the existing system.
The Maple Avenue relief sewer project, which is already underway, is expected to bring some flood relief to the area north of 47th Street to Maple Avenue.
The Ogden Avenue Relief Sewer project, which is now under study, will affect the area south of Brewster Avenue and north of Hillgrove Avenue.
Another project is being developed for the area south of 47th Street.
The cost for all three projects is estimated at $25 million to $30 million.
Residents sat quietly for most of the three-hour meeting, listening to why flooding happened and how it will be prevented in the future. Director of Community Development Patrick Benjamin, a victim of flooding himself, demonstrated a number of products and systems residents could install in their homes to alleviate flooding or seepage.
A lot of rain in a short period of time.
That in a nutshell is what put La Grange under water during four major storms this summer.
Residents packed the Village Hall auditorium Monday, Oct. 18, for a special meeting with village staff and representatives of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District for an explanation of why their basements flooded and what the village planned to do to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
They learned there’s no sure-fire solution to keeping basements dry.
Simply put, Public Works Director Ryan Gillingham explained how the village’s sewer system was no match for heavy rains that fell June 2, June 23, July 24 and Aug. 3. Flooding was reported in all sections of the village, he said, despite the fact that televised examination of the sewer system revealed no blockage that could account for flooding problems.
Manju Sharma, MWRD acting director of maintenance and operations, said data showed that the area experienced more occasions of a lot of rain falling in a shorter time.
As a result, municipal sewer systems cannot keep up because most were not designed to handle that volume of water in the time needed for it to pass through the system, village engineer Tom Heuer said.
“The sewer system in La Grange is an old and often overwhelmed system,” Heuer said. “When the sewer system is overloaded, it will flood.”
While Heuer called the system “old and overwhelmed,” he said it’s not faulty or poorly designed, simply designed to a turn-of-the century standard.
“It would not be practical to replace everything,” he said.
As a result, the village has developed relief sewer projects designed to enhance the existing system.
The Maple Avenue relief sewer project, which is already underway, is expected to bring some flood relief to the area north of 47th Street to Maple Avenue.
The Ogden Avenue Relief Sewer project, which is now under study, will affect the area south of Brewster Avenue and north of Hillgrove Avenue.
Another project is being developed for the area south of 47th Street.
The cost for all three projects is estimated at $25 million to $30 million.
Residents sat quietly for most of the three-hour meeting, listening to why flooding happened and how it will be prevented in the future. Director of Community Development Patrick Benjamin, a victim of flooding himself, demonstrated a number of products and systems residents could install in their homes to alleviate flooding or seepage.
But not all residents were placated by what they heard.
Timothy Takesh and John Bovard are neighbors who live on Peck Avenue. Both contend their flooding problems started three years ago after the village resurfaced Peck Avenue.
Takesh said he was not buying the explanation about the storms being “100-year events.”
“I think there’s something wrong with the way the streets were paved,” he said.
Bovard said his basement is gutted from the last storm and that he has no intention of spending money on remodeling the room unless he’s certain that flooding issues have been corrected by the village.
“This was something that was brought to their attention at the board meeting in August and again tonight it seems they were saying this was news to them, they had not heard that before, certainly not our block, and that’s not the case,” Bovard said.
