Edgewater outlines $15 million stormwater upgrade and Duck Lake pumping plan; permit expected in June

Edgewater’s interim public works director, Sean Aroney, told residents the city is moving forward on a multi‑phase stormwater program backed by a roughly $15,000,000 grant that will stretch from the YMCA/Marion Street area to 10th Street and overlap earlier Hart Avenue work.

"We currently have a $15,000,000 grant that runs from essentially the YMCA Marion Street all the way up to 10th Street," Aroney said, describing the project as two phases with environmental approvals and procurement expected before construction. He said design and permitting for the 18th Street canal mouth remain underway and that permitting time could push some construction into next year.

Aroney described operational actions taken this year: crews cleaned canals, regraded about 34 retention ponds in recent years (15 in 2025 so far) to gain storage volume, staged sandbag distribution sites and ran storm routes to check crossover pipes and catch basins. He noted last year the city pumped Duck Lake down about 15 inches by running pumps for several days and that a permanent permit for the Duck Lake pipeline is expected in June. If the permanent pipe is not yet constructed, he said the city will still pump across the road and close it as needed to maintain function during a declared event.

Residents and elected officials pressed officials on pump strategy and procurement. Aroney said the city will generally rent stormwater pumps rather than buy them, arguing that idle pumps degrade and create maintenance burdens for fleet staff. “I don’t see a big advantage there of spending the $70,000 rather than $4 or $5 to rent one,” he said, adding rentals through regional vendors arrived as needed last year. Several residents and one speaker with heavy‑equipment experience urged buying a limited set of pumps for readiness; council members said the decision has budget implications and could be revisited during the budget cycle.

Aroney cautioned that most local ponds are groundwater‑fed and that pumping large basins is an engineering challenge; he said only certain basins (Duck Lake, 18th Street) are planned for pre‑event pumping and that pumping typically occurs after a declaration when it is legally permissible.

The public works presentation also addressed water‑lettuce growth in canals, which staff said can be managed by periodic mechanical removal or selective spraying but is not usually a flow‑blocking problem in most long canal runs. Aroney invited residents to contact staff for tours and to see the city's maintenance work.

Next steps noted at the seminar: finish environmental clearances, advertise projects to bid if approvals come through, continue pond maintenance and finalize Duck Lake permitting so the planned pipeline can be put in place as permitted work proceeds.