Northside La Grange Flood Project May Begin

LA GRANGE, IL – La Grange may start a northside stormwater project as soon as this year, drawing praise from a resident in the hardest-hit area on her side of town.

The village plans to build an underground vault to store nearly 3.3 million gallons of water during storms.

The vault would be under a Lyons Township High School athletic field three blocks west of North Campus.

The field is near Sunset and Elm avenues, which is the deepest pocket of flooding on the north side.

On Monday, officials presented their capital budget for the fiscal year starting April 1.

Included in the budget is an expected $4.6 million federal grant for the project.

During the meeting, officials emphasized that they have not received a confirmation yet that the village will get the money.

If the grant falls through, La Grange would cancel the project or find money elsewhere, officials said.

The work is expected to last two years.

During school board meetings, Lyons Township High School officials have said they would cooperate with the village.

After the vault is built, the school is expected to install a turf field. A similar project occurred at Elmhurst's York High School a few years ago.

For years, Laura West, who lives at Sunset and Elm, has spoken at village meetings about the need to solve the northside issue.

At Monday's meeting, West said she applauded the village for listening to residents and understanding the problem.

"We are a great village, but we are known for flooding," she said. "I appreciate the thoughtfulness behind this, the work that went into it."

For years, the village relied on its plan for the Maple Avenue Relief Sewer, or MARS, to address problems with flooding at Sunset and Elm, among other areas.

But an engineer for the village said that the project would do relatively little to help Sunset and Elm in particular.