DuPage County staff outline $2.7 million first-phase plan to protect county campus from larger storm events
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Summary
Public works staff presented a multi-option analysis of flood risks across the DuPage County campus and recommended passive infrastructure plus floodproofing in a plan with a preliminary $2.7 million construction estimate and additional funding included in the chair's proposed budget.
DuPage County Public Works officials on Oct. 20 updated the committee on a multi-option plan to reduce flood risk to county facilities on the DuPage County campus, recommending a passive bypass-and-grade-improvement approach with an early construction estimate of about $2.7 million.
The update matters because staff said the campus's drainage and older flood protections were designed for smaller historical storm events; increasing rainfall intensity now threatens buildings that house county IT and critical services. Committee members said protecting those facilities is necessary to preserve county operations during extreme storms.
Tom (presenter) opened the briefing by saying staff were reporting results and seeking direction rather than asking for immediate action: "We're not answering action today. This is more of an update of what we've done today and where do we wanna go in 2026." Staff described how portions of the campus were originally sized for older rainfall standards (TP40/TP70) and that newer guidance reflects larger 100-year event volumes.
Staff presented three options for West Campus and floodproofing measures for East Campus. Option 1 combined passive and active measures and was described as protecting buildings for 100-year events but not the 500-year event, with a rough cost range of $2.1 million to $2.5 million. Option 2 would add a box culvert and grade changes to provide protection up to the 500-year event. Staff's preferred approach combined a bypass sewer (to route off-site flow away from the campus pond) with grade improvements; that option was estimated at about $1.85 million for the primary works and, combined with East Campus floodproofing and related measures, the overall construction-phase estimate presented to the committee was about $2.7 million.
Officials stressed the estimates are preliminary and that the project is in design and permitting. Staff said design, permitting and bid documents should be completed in 2026 and construction would follow in 2026'27 if approved. A presenter noted, "This estimate of 750,000 is just an estimate," describing a separate retrofit line item for one building, and staff reiterated that further architectural and electrical work will be needed to confirm final costs.
Committee members pressed staff on scope and sequencing. Chair Childress said the county would aim where feasible to design to the 500-year standard for critical assets, citing particular concern about the 421 Administration Building basement where the county's IT backbone is housed. Childress said the chair's proposed budget includes funding for the first phase and that staff were confident later phases could be contained within the broader campus stormwater funding requested in the proposed budget.
Staff also noted the role of the county stormwater permitting authority: the project will require a formal permit review and comments from stormwater staff before work can proceed. Committee members asked whether the plan could negatively affect downstream neighbors; presenters responded that the permitting process will prevent negative downstream impacts and that the design will need to demonstrate no adverse off-site effects.
The committee did not take a formal vote on the project during the meeting; staff were directed to continue design and permitting and return with refined costs and permit-ready documents. Staff said they would coordinate scheduling to avoid duplicative construction where feasible (for example, aligning campus drainage work with future building projects).
