DuPage Stormwater Committee approves EPA‑funded Winfield Creek stabilization contract

DuPage County's Stormwater Committee on May 6 approved a contract with Semper Fi Landscaping for the Winfield Creek Streambank Stabilization Project and accepted a federal grant for the work.

The motion approved a professional services and construction contract for the project with Semper Fi Landscaping, not to exceed $612,015.97, and an additional appropriation from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Section 319 Nonpoint Source Pollution Control Financial Assistance Program in the amount of $472,452.12. Committee members voted in favor and the motions carried.

The project covers an extended stretch of Winfield Creek that involves the Village of Winfield, the Winfield Park District and DuPage County. A county staff member described the work as a continuation of design efforts begun previously and said the construction and follow‑up work is grant‑funded by the EPA.

County staff told the committee the construction contract includes a five‑year period during which the contractor must meet performance standards, including site stabilization and plant establishment, before final acceptance. That five‑year performance window is intended to ensure long‑term stabilization after the contractor completes construction.

Committee members asked whether the project actually will take five years or whether the five years represents the contract and warranty period. A staff member clarified that construction is starting now and the five‑year provision requires the contractor to maintain performance standards for that period.

The stabilization work follows earlier Winfield Creek projects and is one part of a larger, multi‑year approach to stream stabilization in the watershed. Staff noted that past work nearby addressed a different reach of Winfield Creek and that future grant opportunities could support additional stretches of the stream.

The motion to approve the Semper Fi Landscaping contract (SMP 12‑25) was moved and seconded during the meeting; the committee recorded the motion as carried. The committee also approved related agreements and on‑call engineering, geotechnical and hydraulic modeling contracts in separate votes earlier in the agenda related to watershed mapping and design.

Project funding, the multi‑jurisdictional partners, the five‑year contractor performance requirement and the EPA Section 319 appropriation were all described on the record during the committee's May 6 meeting. No implementation date beyond the contract period was specified at the meeting.