“Flanagin Park neighbors get flood relief,” Lansing Journal

August 4, 2024

MWRD ribbon-cutting ceremony marks $1.8 million North Creek Flood Relief Project

Lansing Journal: On Tuesday, July 30, at Flanagin Park (on Sherman Street near 188th), the Village of Lansing and Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) of Greater Chicago held a celebratory ribbon-cutting ceremony for the North Creek Flood Relief Project.

The $1.8 million major drainage project was selected to receive funding in 2020 due to intense flooding issues in the neighborhood around Flanagin Park.

From steel to concrete

Construction began in 2023, and the 8-month long construction project involved replacing the existing steel culvert with a new concrete culvert. This will reduce the risk of flooding for 56 residential structures in the Flanagin Park neighborhood.

Flanagin Park and the surrounding neighborhoods have suffered flooding for decades. (Photo: Melanie Jongsma, 2021)

The project was primarily funded by a $1.6 million MWRD grant, as part of their Local Stormwater Partnership Program. But according to Dan Podgoroski, Village Administrator, this move is only "Phase 1" of the many infrastructure projects to come, designed to tackle flooding in the area.

"Most of the time, ribbon cuttings are reserved for big economic development projects," Podgoroski said at the ceremony. "We don't often recognize local stormwater projects …. This area has been the home of localized flooding for many a year. Some of the homes around you are in the lowest elevation in the entire village."

A long-standing issue for residents

At the ribbon-cutting ceremony, both Mayor Eidam and Podgorski mentioned the routine flooding incidents for residents in the area. The Village had initially met with a number of residents back in 2018, in order to get a project like this in motion.

Several residents had noted routine flooding not only once, but on several occasions - the Village became familiar with which basements had to be routinely replaced.

Village elected officials and MWRD commissioners celebrate following the ribbon-cutting ceremony. From left: Village Trustee Jerry Zeldenrust (partly off-camera), MWRD Commissioner Precious Brady-Davis, MWRD Commissioner Mariyana Spyropoulos, MWRD President Kari K. Steele, Lansing Mayor Patty Eidam, MWRD Commissioner Dan Pogorzelski, Village Trustee Maureen Grady-Perovich, and Village Trustee Brian Hardy (partly off-camera). (Photo: Reena Alsakaji)

Typically, North Creek, flowing into the subdivision from Wentworth, would come into an old culvert and in between some of the homes. The old culvert, Podgoroski said, was worn, filled with silt, and had begun to fail to hold stormwater before being released in the Burnham ditch. Now, the resulting culvert is strategically designed to hold more stormwater and move currents away.

Moving forward, the Village plans to address flooding through increased local detention, a reduction of water coming into the Burnham ditch, and a rerouting of stormwater away from the many residents in the Flanagin neighborhood.

"I want to thank the neighbors and residents of the Flanagin Park area. We met with many of them back in 2018. Their patience and diligence have begun to be rewarded. I want to tell them that this is Phase 1: we will be back with more solutions," Podgorski said.

Around 20-30 people were in attendance at the ceremony, mostly members of MWRD and a few residents. At the podium, Podgorski, Mayor Patty Eidam, MWRD President Kari K. Steele, MWRD Commissioner Mariyana Spyropoulos, MWRD Commissioner Precious Brady-David, and MWRD Commissioner Dan Pogorzelski were present.

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