Blame La Grange Highlands: Western Springs Residents

WESTERN SPRINGS, IL — An engineering firm concluded earlier this year that Western Springs' Springdale neighborhood would continue to be vulnerable to flooding, even without the runoff from unincorporated La Grange Highlands.

However, residents took exception to that conclusion during Monday's Village Board meeting.

"The amount of water that comes from La Grange Highlands, from 54th Street to Howard, I don't know how you control that," Franklin Avenue resident Robert Watson said. "I don't know if there are enough storm drains big enough to handle that water. It's a river, and it comes rushing down Franklin."

Another Franklin Avenue resident, Matthew Kelly, agreed.

"I feel like (the firm) underestimated the impact of the La Grange Highlands section, the unincorporated area," Kelly said. "The amount of water that flows from that area into Western Springs, we need to take that a little more seriously this time."

He said water shot up from storm drains in last weekend's flooding in Springdale.

"The only way that could be pressurized that way is because of higher ground, which is in La Grange Highlands," Kelly said.

Russell Hartigan, another Springdale resident and a former village trustee, said the water is coming right in from La Grange Highlands. He suggested the village work with Cook County to find a solution.

In the spring, a study done by Rosemont-based Christopher Burke Engineering confirmed La Grange Highlands adds to runoff to the village's undersized storm sewer system. But it said the unincorporated community does not cause the problem.

"In fact, if the drainage from La Grange Highlands was completely eliminated, there would still be flooding within Springdale Subdivision, although it would be less frequent and less severe," the study said.

Moreover, adding a detention basin in La Grange Highlands would be unlikely and costly, the study said.