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Flooding relief for Elm Place could be part of referendum
Updated: September 3, 2012 6:07AM
GLENCOE — When the Village of Glencoe bond issue goes on the ballot in November, it’ll likely include money for a project to reduce flooding in the Elm Place area after all.
That seemed less certain last spring, when $3.8 million for “high priority” projects to help out the Greenwood/Oakdale and Harbor/Linden areas sailed through the Village Board, and “moderate priority” Elm Place south of Valley Street was put off.
Unlike the other two areas projects, rainfall didn’t directly flood basements, according to the village. Water did seep into the sanitary sewers, however, and that backed up into basements, which made them just as wet.
And dirtier, as a rule.
Also, the proposed projects designed by Engineering Resources Inc., which cost up to $1 million, still left 20 houses with yard flooding in 100-year storms, which happen a lot more often than that.
In the 50-year storms, the results wouldn’t be much better.
But since then, the village’s public works staff has put heads together with the consultants, and designed a project they think will help out every one of 20 property owners, even in 100-year storm events — but for $1.45 million.
The pipe extends farther, giving it more water-carrying capacity. It also is, in parts, bigger than the 36-inch maximum ERI designed for the area.
A lot bigger: 5 feet wide.
The longer pipe will have to go through some backyards, but Glencoe Public Works Director Dave Mau said he expects residents to go along, since it’ll probably make every place it traverses considerably drier.
Like many such projects, the Elm Place job is also expected to have a positive, though less significant, effect on properties in a much larger area than just the neighborhood of Elm Place and Valley Street — in this case, about 87 acres.
The Village Board approved the project unanimously July 19.
The Village Board is set to finalize the bond issue at its Aug. 16 meeting.
Among the items expected to be included in the bond issue are about $2 million for street resurfacing, $800,000 for sanitary sewers and $5.4 million for the flood control.
