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Resident urges Mount Prospect to press MWRD for Higgins Creek flood work near Badger Road
Summary
A Mount Prospect property owner described recurring flooding near Badger Road and Terminal Drive and asked village staff to follow up with the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) about available programs; staff said MWRD has funding programs but ownership and funding rules complicate direct MWRD work on privately owned channels.
At the Jan. 14 Committee of the Whole meeting, resident Randy Spitzer urged village officials to press the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) to address chronic flooding on Badger Road and Terminal Drive near Higgins Creek.
Spitzer said he owns property at 2400 Terminal Drive and 2411 East Oakton and described recurring floods that recently stranded emergency vehicles. “They would be a good neighbor,” Spitzer said of the DeMeo brothers, whom he supports moving into a local parcel tied to nearby work, and he added that prior MWRD work about 10 years ago reduced how long the area stayed flooded. Spitzer said he has spoken to MWRD staff and was told MWRD submitted a plan to the village but that he did not know whether village staff had received MWRD follow‑up.
Village staff said MWRD has programs, including a “shovel‑ready” program, that can fund stormwater work, but that MWRD’s stormwater partnership program generally requires the local government to have an ownership interest or an eligible agreement for the property where work would occur. Staff noted key complicating facts: parts of the channel and adjacent properties, including Lake Briarwood and a channel near apartment buildings on Bussey Road, are privately owned, and the MWRD will not typically provide direct program funding to private entities. Staff said the village has reviewed opportunities and will follow up with MWRD and the resident.
Why it matters: the resident said flooding has impeded safety responses and recurs during moderate storms; MWRD programs and local engineering could reduce the duration and depth of flooding but require coordination, preliminary engineering and resolution of property‑ownership issues.
Staff follow up: village staff told the resident they will follow up with MWRD and the resident and investigate preliminary engineering needs and potential funding paths. The resident said he has photographs documenting past flood events and will make them available to staff.
