West Branch DuPage River Corridor Improvements
West Branch DuPage River Flood Control and Restoration Project
Scheduled to begin late May, DuPage County Stormwater
Management and the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County will begin
restoration work in McDowell Grove Forest Preserve. The agencies will be
removing invasive plant species and replanting the area with native species to
improve the ecology. Work in McDowell Grove is expected to continue through early
fall.
This project is
a portion of the greater West Branch DuPage River Corridor Restoration Project.
With partial funding from the
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency in the form of a $1.37 million grant, the work includes installation of best
management practices along a more than three-mile stretch of the river. In order to reduce flood-related damages
in this area, DuPage County Stormwater Management will also be constructing a
flood control berm with a multi-use path along the east side of River Road, as
well as additional flood control improvements. This portion of the project is
expected to begin early summer.
Project Documents
Project Background Information
The flooding of September 2008 in Warrenville prompted DuPage County to study the stretch of the West Branch DuPage River from Roosevelt Road down through Fawell Dam for flood control solutions. This study is also called the West Branch DuPage River Interim Watershed Plan Addendum, and it analyzed a number of alternatives for flood control and water quality enhancement. The recommended alternative identified the following improvements:
- Raising of Bower Elementary School flood control berm;
- Raising the profile of River Road;
- Reconstruction of Warrenville Road bridge;
- Reconstruction of Williams Road bridge;
- Construction of a flood control berm at the Emerald Green subdivision;
- Construction of a flood control berm at the Iroquois Court/Williams Road neighborhood;
- Construction of a flood control berm at Forestview Drive;
- Implementation of compensatory storage for the above improvements by cutting of channel banks approximately between the Warrenville Grove Dam site and the McDowell Grove Dam site; and
- Implementation of a river restoration corridor approximately between the Warrenville Grove Dam site and the McDowell Grove Dam site to provide water quality, fish habitat and riparian improvements.
The total cost estimated to implement the recommended alternative is $18.3 million. The recommended alternative includes multiple improvements and the funding will be shared by multiple jurisdictions. In September 2010, the County Board approved a 5-year bond initiative that allocated $5.5 million for the implementation of the West Branch DuPage River Watershed Plan Addendum’s recommended alternative. Other sources of funding are still being sought for the remaining cost. Construction of the Phase I improvements at Bower Elementary School began in Summer 2012. The Phase II flood control improvements and river restoration work will begin late Spring 2013.
West Branch Forest Preserve Klein Fen, River Restoration and Wetland Mitigation Project
The West Branch Forest
Preserve Klein Fen, River Restoration and Wetland Mitigation project aims to
improve the river ecology along a stretch of the West Branch DuPage River in
Carol Stream. Stormwater Management and the Forest Preserve District of DuPage
County plan to construct a raised channel bed with riffles and pools to provide
a better habitat for aquatic animals. This will also allow floodwaters, which
would otherwise impact downstream communities, to overflow into adjacent
wetlands in the surrounding West Branch Forest Preserve. Wetland mitigation,
including restoration of a rare fen, and streambank stabilization efforts are
planned to restore the surrounding natural areas and stabilize the eroding
banks using native plants. The project is scheduled to go out to bid this
month.
West Branch DuPage River Interim Watershed Plan Addendum
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