THE JOURNAL & TOPICS NEWSPAPERS | WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 21, 2008
No Clear Path When It Comes To Improving Water Retention
 Conrad Lenckos walks along the South Navy Ditch retention area which overflowed its banks Sept. 13-14. Many residents of the Tall Trees neighborhood remain upset with the village's storm water infrastructure. |
By TOM ROBB
Journal & Topics Reporter
Residents of Glenview's Tall Trees neighborhood continued to clean up last weekend from massive rains the week before.
Storm caused the South Navy Ditch and the West Fork of the North Branch of the Chicago River to overflow their banks, sending water through many homes in the neighborhood.
Neighbors met last weekend, unhappy with storm detention in the neighborhood.
Several neighborhood residents spoke last Saturday while they were cleaning out flooded base ments. They wanted to see a "mini Techny Basin" built in the neighborhood.
"To drain all this required more detention than we could ever dream of," said Village President Kerry Cummings in a recent village board meeting on the flood. "It is beyond the capabilities of government to deal with, but we will look at it."
The village has been in discussions with the Metropolitan Water Reclamation Dist. (MWRD) about adding detention.
On Sequoia Street, Conrad Lenckos said the Dumpster in front of his house contained $40,000 worth of his family's possessions not covered by flood insurance. The house itself, he said, is a total loss.
"We were doing pretty well on our mortgage, that's all going to change," said Conrad.
He said he had been ambivalent about a large development planned nearby for the United Methodist Church's Global Board of Pensions, but now thinks that land would be better used to create a mini Techny Basin for the neighborhood.
Other neighbors were in agreement with the need for more retention and were upset with the village's storm water infrastructure.
Howard Friedman said he lost his house on Blackthorn Street with $60,000 to $70,000 in damage.
"Tall Trees is the sacrificial lamb," said Friedman. "When water comes over, it has to go somewhere. I know (new developments like) the library and the police station are important but this is our lives and we need help."
During the storm he heard what he thought was a small explosion in his basement. Water from the rising river went through his back yard and blew out his basement windows filling to the top step of the basemen staircase.
Friedman evacuated his family earlier and found himself trapped in the house. Fearing being trapped on his roof, he waded through waist-deep water in his back yard, kicking down a tall wood fence to escape the waters through a cemetery.
Glenview Natural Resources Commissioner Rob Bloomquist wore a "Friend of the River" T-shirt Saturday as he cleaned up his home on Blackthorn.
"Was the village's response what it could have been? No," said Bloomquist.
Bloomquist said the village can do more with managing water.
"As long as we treat it like a ditch (the South Navy Ditch) it will act like a ditch," said Bloomquist.
He said public works crews delivered piles of sand this year, but during storms last year in August, they delivered filled sand bags to the neighborhood.
"Our goal was to get the sand out to the residents as quickly as possible. Taking the time to fill all the sand bags would have slowed the process down considerably," said Janet Spector Bishop, communications director for the village. "The village did continue to replenish the pile over the weekend to make sure it didn't run out but, again, speed was our goal."
Responding to criticism from Lenckos that the Navy cleaned the ditch regularly while they ran Naval Air Station Glenview, Bloomquist said, "The village should clean out the ditch. People want the government closest to them to be the closest to their needs. The MWRD manages the water but it's our village."
Bloomquist has mixed feelings about creating a detention basin on the site of the Methodist development as some in the neighborhood have suggested, but said there are several lots that the village owns that could be made into basins.
Spector Bishop said, "We are waiting on the results of a MWRD study on the entire Chicago River watershed before making any detention decisions."
Tall Trees resident and State Rep. Elizabeth Coulson said new detention is a federal issue through the Army Corps of Engineers with some involvement of MWRD and the state. Coulson saw four and a half feet of water in her home that sits right on the river.
"We got a triple whammy of the river, Navy ditch and sewers," said Coulson.
Her house has a lower rear back yard and finished lower floor that sits lower than the river.