WILMETTe – As the Wilmette Village Board gears up for its anticipated vote on a stormwater action plan on April 17, the village is spending the time leading up to that final vote educating residents on the three stormwater management options under consideration that would address flooding west of Ridge Road.
At an open house at village hall on March 13, village staff from the public works and finance departments were on hand to answer questions. Representatives from the consulting firm Stantec also were in attendance. Residents had the opportunity to learn more about the financing side of the project, as well as an in-depth analysis of each option. There was also a table dedicated to tips for homeowners, from advice on rain barrels to sewer lateral lining.
“Our attendance has been terrific. We have a lot of interested parties on all of the three options. We’ve been able to give a lot of homeowners tips,” Brigitte Berger, Engineering and Public Works Director, told DailyNorthShore.
The three options being considered are called “sewer expansion,” “sewer expansion and neighborhood storage hybrid,” and “neighborhood storage.”
While the sewer expansion option protects the largest number of homes and properties from flooding, it is also the most expensive and disruptive. It would require the installation of 8.3 miles of larger, new storm sewer lines that would convey water to the village’s pumping station. As the most ambitious plan, it is also expected to be the most effective, with a 95% reduction in vulnerable structures and a 97% reduction in vulnerable properties. It could take up to five years or longer to complete.
The hybrid option also replaces some of the village’s stormwater lines (5.4 miles) and also includes storage under Thornwood Park in Kenilworth Gardens. It would protect fewer homes than the expansion option, but the pipes and detention storage could be completed at the same time.
The neighborhood storage option is the least costly, but also protects the fewest number of homes from flooding. It involves the construction of storage facilities underneath Thornwood Park, Hibbard Park and Centennial Park. The storage areas could be build over the course of two or three years, or longer, depending on how the project is phased. The neighborhoods surrounding those storage areas would see the most benefit.
While the village board has been studying this issue in earnest since 2013, in the last year it honed in on three options now under consideration. The cost of this type of project is not small, with a low of $48 million to a high of $95 million — and these estimates are based on 2017 estimates. The cost would be paid with a new storm water utility fee that would be calculated based on impervious surface coverage of each homeowner’s parcel. Estimated increases on average are $487 per year for the sewer expansion option, $416 for the hybrid plan and $260 for the neighborhood storage option.
The heavy cost of the project is not lost on residents.
“It’s an awful lot of money,” Fred Hemke said, a Wilmette resident attending the open house. He decided to attend the open house to learn more about the three options. “When you are involved with that much money you have to find out what the village is thinking about,” he said.
While Hemke said he is sympathetic to the problem — he lives in East Wilmette and will not directly benefit from the project — he has concerns not only about the cost, but also that none of the plans will entirely solve the problem. “I think it is temporary in my mind. The problem will continue to exist,” he said, attributing much of the problems to an increase in impervious land from large new builds, additions and other development.
