DARIEN, IL – Some Willowbrook residents fear a proposed Darien stormwater project would send water their way, flooding homes.
Darien is seeking $600,000 in federal money for a flood mitigation project for the 7600 to 7900 blocks of Gail and Linden avenues.
During a public hearing Monday, an official read messages from three out-of-town residents, including two from Virginia Court in Willowbrook.
Darien's average elevation is higher than Willowbrook and Burr Ridge.
In the letters, the Willowbrook residents said they worried that the Darien project would send more water to a tributary of Sawmill Creek. That waterway has seen flooding going back to at least the 1970s, according to Willowbrook's website.
Dan Gombac, Darien's top public works official, said the flood project would not affect Willowbrook neighborhoods to Darien's east.
He said the estimated $1.2 million project may involve moving stormwater to the nearby Lindenwood Park, where it would be temporarily stored and then pumped out.
According to Willowbrook, 42 percent of Sawmill Creek's watershed is within Darien and another 45 percent is within unincorporated DuPage County. Just 6 percent is in Willowbrook.
Joe Myczek, who lives in the 8600 block of Ailsworth Drive, wondered why the city is seeking money for Linden and Gail, but not his neighborhood, another flooding hotspot.
"I've been trying to get this addressed for a long time," he said. "I'm not trying to take anything away from the people in that area."
Officials told him it was because of the demographic requirements under the federal Community Development Block Grant program, which is designed for low- and moderate-income communities.
Linden and Gail qualify, while Ailsworth does not, according to the city.
The City Council voted unanimously to apply for the grant.
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