Dredging Project To Address Erosion Along Woods Creek Streambank

LAKE IN THE HILLS, IL –The village of Lake in the Hills was awarded a grant that will help pay for streambank stabilization improvements along the Woods Creek streambank, which is experiencing severe erosion. The erosion causes silt and sediment build-up which decreases the channel depth and must be remedied by periodic channel dredging. The dredging typically costs $300,000 each time it is done, according to a news release.

The 319 grant money, awarded by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA), will be used to pay for the project, which will stabilize about 1,817 linear feet of streambank and improve about 27 acres of adjacent wetland, according to a news release.

“The project highlights the village commitment – not only to storm water management, but also water quality as the reduction of silt and sediment will improve water quality for the region,” said Peter D’Agostino, Village Management Analyst.

The implementation of this project will complement adjacent projects to this streambank completed by the Village of Algonquin and the project is supported by the McHenry County Soil and Water Conservation District, the Village of Algonquin and the Friends of the Fox.

The total project cost is $839,100, with the village paying for $355,640, or 40 percent of the total cost, and the IEPA grant covering $503,460, or 60 percent of the project cost.

Although the construction portion of this project is not anticipated to begin until the summer of 2019, village staff will begin preparing for this project later this year.

Photo via the village of Lake in the Hills