DuPage County stormwater team wins APWA honor for Country Club Highlands flood project
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Summary
DuPage County’s stormwater department received the American Public Works Association environmental project award for multi-phase Country Club Highlands drainage improvements that used ARPA funding to build a 48-inch relief sewer, a 1.3 acre-foot underground storage vault and more than 3,000 feet of new storm infrastructure protecting 200+ homes and a school.
Jamie Locke, DuPage County’s chief stormwater engineer, told the county’s Stormwater Management Committee on Feb. 3 that the department accepted the American Public Works Association environmental project award in January for the Country Club Highlands Drainage Improvement Project. “If it wasn't for the support and leadership from Cherise and the entire SOMR committee, we wouldn't have even been there to accept the award,” Locke said.
Locke said the project addressed decades of chronic flooding in the unincorporated Country Club Highlands subdivision of Elmhurst after spring 2019 storms left roads blocked, an elementary school affected and some residences evacuated by boat. The county hired B3 Consultants to study a roughly 92-acre watershed and design a multi-phase flood-control strategy.
Phase 1 installed a 48-inch relief sewer, high-capacity inlets and connecting storm sewers; Locke said that work required coordination with Illinois American Water, three private property owners and the Addison Township Highway Department. “This project cost about $650,000, and we paid for it entirely with the American Rescue Plan Act funds,” Locke said. He added that permitting went through DuPage County and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers because the discharge ultimately enters Addison Creek.
Phase 2 focused upstream and cost about $2.7 million, also funded with ARPA allocations, Locke said. That work included construction of an underground detention vault that provides approximately 1.3 acre-feet of flood storage beneath the roadway, additional storm sewers and sanitary-line work along Willow Road; the project placed about 750 feet of deep vault along Willow and used twin culverts as a cost-saving alternative to a proprietary system.
Locke described steps taken to reduce community disruption: change orders resolved a nearby low-lying area at no additional cost, the contractor and county implemented an emergency-response plan for construction storms, and staff hand-delivered and mailed multiple notices to affected residents. “We also barricaded and ensured public safety at all times because that storage vault was 8 feet deep,” he said.
The two phases reached final completion in 2024. Locke said the finished work includes native plantings and riprap at the outlet to prevent scour, new trees and restored lawns, and “over 3,000 linear feet of infrastructure in the ground to protect over 200 homes, multiple roads, and [an] elementary school from future flooding.” The committee and staff thanked consultants (B3) and the contractor Earthworks for their roles.
No formal action was required on the award announcement. The meeting moved on to scheduled agenda items after the presentation.