Iroquois County residents press officials over drainage, decommissioning as large solar projects advance

Residents, drainage-district engineers and county staff spent much of a Feb. 3 Iroquois County Planning & Zoning Committee meeting urging stronger protections for farmland and drainage ahead of two large commercial solar projects.

Several neighbors who live near proposed Ranger Power and Lewis Creek sites told the committee they fear post-driven solar racking will puncture existing subsurface drainage tile and aggravate flooding. "If they pound the tile, they're not gonna find all the tile," an unidentified resident said during public comment, adding that tile damage could lead to siltation, plugged drains and expanded flood risk for nearby properties.

Anthony Chubb, who identified himself as the tenant and caretaker of land north of the Lewis Street site, presented aerial maps and said surface water currently flows north into a pond and then into a tile that discharges to Lewis Creek. "If the land to the south is covered with solar panels, those are impervious surfaces…that'll cause more flooding, which also puts a greater severity of impact on Lewis Creek over Route…