Western Springs Takes Step For Flood Project

WESTERN SPRINGS, IL – Western Springs trustees this week voted to hire an engineer to draft final plans for a stormwater project in the flood-prone Ridgewood neighborhood.

The estimated price tag is $2.3 million.

Officials hope the work would reduce flooding that occurs on Ridgewood Drive between Birch and Crest lanes.

The key part of the project is the installation of a larger pipe that will empty into Flagg Creek, which is west of houses on Ridgewood Drive. The pipe will go in a village right-of-way between two houses.

Starting this summer, village residents are set to be charged a stormwater fee to pay for projects such as the one in Ridgewood, which is in the village's southwestern corner.

The other major flood-prone neighborhood is Springdale. A project there has already received a $1 million grant from the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, the village said. The project would feature a water detention basin in Springdale Park.