Elmhurst Weathered Flooding 'OK': Mayor

ELMHURST, IL — Speaking about the city's handling of the heavy rainfall over the weekend, Elmhurst's mayor said Monday that "we weathered it OK." Nearly 8 inches of rain fell in parts of Elmhurst, causing streets and basements to flood.

Mayor Steve Morley said he drove around town to see how the city's stormwater projects over the last six years handled the rainfall.

"All the projects that we have put in were certainly operating, but when you get a deluge like that, sometimes it takes a little bit of time for the system to catch up," Morley said at the City Council's regular meeting.

The mayor noted part of the city's stormwater management plan includes allowing water to go onto streets.

"There are areas near my house where the streets are impassable," Morley said. "But the water is contained in the streets or a little bit up on the parkway. While it is not ideal ... our goal is to keep the stormwater out of the houses."

One example of an improvement in drainage over the years is Pine Street, the mayor said.

"In my first 10 years as an elected official, if I drove on Pine during an even slight rainstorm, it was closed," he said, adding that this was no longer the case.

City Manager Jim Grabowski told the council that this month was the third wettest May since 1871. He said the city would review a couple of flooded spots with engineers. One is North and Ridgeland avenues, which closed as a result of the rainfall. The other was Spring Road, which also saw "significant" flooding, Grabowski said.

Overall, the manager said, the drainage improvements over the last five years that cost $25 million "functioned as designed."