Will County moves to complete buyouts tied to DuPage River flood‑risk project

Will County staff reported progress on a multi‑year DuPage River buyout project with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and received committee approval to proceed with purchase of one remaining property in Shorewood that lies in the floodway.

County land‑acquisition work on behalf of the Corps began under a feasibility study started in 2015; the feasibility report was issued in 2019 and a project partnership agreement was signed in 2020, county staff said. Under that agreement, the county is required to buy properties identified for removal from the floodplain and floodway so structures can be returned to vacant land or parkland and future flood claims reduced.

Staff said the county earlier completed purchase and demolition of six properties in Plainfield Township; demolition and site restoration were finished about two weeks before the meeting. Two study areas remain: a site in Bolingbrook where the Corps is still determining whether additional purchases are necessary, and a Shorewood property near U.S. 59 and Jefferson that is in the floodway and for which the county sought approval to purchase under the same terms used for the earlier acquisitions. The committee approved moving forward with that Shorewood purchase.

County staff emphasized that purchases required under the Corps agreement are targeted to remove structures from the floodplain/floodway; the ultimate disposition of returned parcels could be vacant land or parkland. Committee members asked clarifying questions about the Bolingbrook study and one Shorewood site that might instead be flood‑proofed, and staff said the Corps will determine those outcomes in coming months.

The committee approved the resolution authorizing the Shorewood purchase; the motion passed on a clean roll call.