Cahill Basin Receives $3M in Federal Assistance

Whitefish Bay will only have to pay $523,000 for a $4.2 million storm water management facility in Cahill Park, thanks to a grant from the federal government.

Village officials recently learned that the Federal Emergency Management Agency awarded a $3.1 million grant for the storm water management facility, which will reduce storm water flows in the southern end of the village. Now that the funds are being granted by FEMA, the state government and Whitefish Bay Village Board will split the remaining balance, which is roughly $1.1 million.

Village Manager Patrick DeGrave said the village hopes to start the project in early spring.

The Cahill storm water management system would construct a dry detention basin with an eight- to nine-foot drop at the north end of the park by the softball field, allowing roughly 500,000 cubic feet of rain water to drain into the park and provide relief to at least 100 homes in the southern half of the village.

After 24 to 48 hours in the retention basin, the rain water would drain southward through a recessed passageway and empty into the storm sewer at Sheffield Avenue, then through a Hampton storm sewer before eventually discharging into the Milwaukee River at Estabrook Park.

The village is working with Friends of Bay Baseball to rebuild the high school baseball field slightly northeast of its current location to accomodate the slope along the perimeter. The village has also pledged $50,000 to help the club install artificial turf in the infield.

To move the water southward, the area between the baseball outfield and the tennis courts would have to be lowered two to three feet. The baseball field would still meet WIAA standards, but would see a gradual 3 1/2 foot drop from home plate to the end of the outfield. A new underdrain system would be built under the baseball field to manage excess rain water.

The plan would eliminate the junior varsity softball field, but the green space would still be available for informal recreational activities. The tennis courts and playground equipment on the west end of the park would be untouched, due to a retaining wall that would separate those areas of the park from the baseball field.

With the Cahill plan and new pipe upgrades in place, the village's southwestern drainage basin – which can currently manage 2.6 inches in a 24-hour period – would then be able to handle 3.6 inches in a 24-hour period, or 5.9 inches in a 24-hour period with street ponding.