School, La Grange Join Forces On Flooding

LA GRANGE, IL – Lyons Township High School says it is working with La Grange for a flood control project.

Among North Campus improvements, the school plans to install turf on its easternmost field. As part of that, the school aims to install an underground detention basin below the field to collect stormwater.

This is similar to a project at Elmhurst's York High School a couple of years ago. That work was the result of sometimes tense talks between Elmhurst and the local school district.

In many built-out towns, schools and parks are among the few areas where municipalities can detain stormwater.

At this week's Lyons Township High School board meeting, members were told that talks are continuing with the village to make the flood project a reality.

"I think everybody is probably aware the storm system in La Grange is significantly undersized," Ed Wright of Itasca-based DLA Architects said. "They're not really doing anything to increase it, so the solution to that is to start to detain water where you can."

The underground detention, he said, will add a lot to the costs of the turf field.

"That would mean we'd probably ask them to pay some of the costs for that obviously," Wright said. "But it's an opportunity to better the community and help deal with that problem."

He said the school was considering going out to bid for the project in the spring. But with the village's timeline, he said, the school may delay that process to next fall.

"It could go potentially to the next summer if it drags on longer," Wright said.

Board President Dawn Aubert said it would be a good opportunity to help the village with its flooding. But she asked how it would impact the village's 2026 deadline to spend money borrowed for the project.

Wright replied the project wasn't expected to last that long, likely from four to six months.

In June, Village President Mark Kuchler praised the school for helping with the stormwater problem. He based his comments on a Patch story about the school's plan.