Winnetka Council Approves Wetlands Stormwater Project Memorandum

WINNETKA, IL — The Winnetka Village Council voted unanimously Tuesday to approve a memorandum of understanding with the Cook County forest preserves for a project to divert much of the town's stormwater into the preserves.

According to the Village, the next step in the project is to move ahead with engineering tasks and intergovernmental negotiations with other local agency stakeholders, such as local school and park districts.

After about two years of negotiation, the forest preserve district's board voted last month to authorize the memorandum and the Village's use of more than 18.5 acres of district land, according to Winnetka Talk.

Read more about the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Forest Preserves of Cook County (FPCC) from the Village of Winnetka:

Several FPCC issues are addressed in the MOU: (i) the wetlands detention project can only be a part of an overall flood reduction program, not the only solution; (ii) stormwater quality must be improved before it is released to FPCC property; (iii) tree removal should be minimized, and the Village must comply with FPCC tree mitigation and license fees; (iv) Winnetka will assume long-term maintenance of the project; and (v) Winnetka will provide off-site benefits to further the goals of the FPCC.

The original proposal for the wetlands project has been revised over the course of the FPCC negotiations, resulting in an iteration that costs less than the original plan, removes fewer trees, and is more in keeping with FPCC goals. The MOU provides agreement on the following key points: (i) the wetland project aligns with FPCC goals and benefits both Winnetka and the FPCC; (ii) the size and scope of the project is fixed, along with the preliminary design; (iii) a water quality program is specified to clean the stormwater currently being sent through the FPCC land to the Skokie River; (iv) all fees associated for the project are fixed; and (v) a long-term maintenance plan is established, to be administered by Winnetka.

Now that the Village has approved the MOU, discussions about other potential stormwater storage projects can begin with Winnetka schools and parks – who have already demonstrated their commitment with letters of support for the MOU. Most importantly, the Village can start work on engineering tasks without fear that these dollars are wasted on a project that will never be approved.

Read More:

• Full text: Memorandum of Understanding
• Agenda Report
• Presentation from Winnetka Village Engineer Steve Saunders

» via the Village of Winnetka

_{Top photo: Skokie Lagoons | via Forest Preserve District of Cook County}