Will County’s Land Use and Development Committee spent the bulk of a special meeting discussing whether the county should require drain-tile (field-tile) studies when former agricultural parcels are developed.

A committee member raised the issue after recounting cases where new construction severed drainage tiles and later caused flooding for downhill neighbors. “Just like with solar, we have them do the field tile study ahead of time so they know where they are,” the member said, arguing studies could prevent damage when builders cut into existing tiles.

Bridal Radnor of the Land Use Department told the committee that the county already requires a drain-tile study for solar farms and for new subdivisions, but that an exemption under the Platt Act applies to divisions of land of 5 acres or greater. “Because of that, when we look at what the water resource ordinances have in place … there’s an exemption for the development of property 5 acres or greater from not requiring a professionally engineered site plan,” Radnor said.

County Engineer Bruce Adderman cautioned that costs vary widely depending on site conditions: “There’s a lot of things you have to look at for cost. How much area is upstream? What’s tributary to it? Is it 5 acres or is it 500 acres?” He said a simple trench and relocation might cost “a couple $1,000,” while larger, more complex sites could be far more expensive.

Members debated who should bear cost and responsibility. One member asked whether homeowners would be liable if a study were required; staff clarified the study would typically be completed by a qualified contractor or engineering consultant rather than the homeowner. Several members urged shifting responsibility onto developers or contractors when large-scale development occurs, while others cautioned against adding burdens that could deter housing in unincorporated areas.

Staff recommended gathering comparative practices from neighboring counties (DuPage, Kendall, Kane and others) and returning to the committee with options. Committee leadership directed staff to report back and signaled willingness to consider removing the 5-acre/site-plan exemption or to require standalone drain-tile studies in targeted situations.

The committee did not adopt any ordinance changes at the meeting; members agreed to revisit the issue at a future meeting, with staff research due before the next substantive vote.