The Village of Oak Park may start a program to help residents upgrade their basements to avoid heavy flooding. Several neighboring communities have similar offerings, and public works officials think such assistance would make sense here after a heavy rain last month backed up drains across northeast Oak Park.
Oak Park resident Claire Baffa is one person who’d take advantage of such a program. During a heavy rainstorm on July 21, she found 5 inches of water in her basement, ruining several pieces of wooden furniture and causing some $5,000 worth of damage.
“It’s unsettling that some of Oak Park is under water and some of it isn’t,” she said. “This needs to be taken care of, whether it’s an infrastructure problem or not.”
The July rainstorm dropped about 4.3 inches of rain on Oak Park, which officials consider a 50-year storm, whereas the sewer system is built to withstand a 10-year storm. Along with the 100-year storm that drenched Oak Park last year, Oak Park is seeing some of the heaviest rainfalls since 1987, according to Village Engineer Jim Budrick.
At least 163 homes around the village experienced basement flooding last month, many in the northeast corner of Oak Park, where the ground level is lower.
In the aftermath, village hall is putting together a report on possible remedies to present to the village board in September, said Public Works Director John Wielebnicki. They hope to sign a $75,000 contract soon to have a company run cameras through Oak Park sewers to see if there is any damage or obstructions.
Wielebnicki plans to suggest a program where Oak Park covers half of residents’ costs to install flood-prevention devices, such as overhead sewers that push sewage up above flood levels, or backflow prevention devices. Communities such as Elmhurst, River Forest and Elmwood Park already have such programs, Wielebnicki said, with the village’s share ranging anywhere from $1,500 to $7,500 per home.
The deadline passed last week, but Oak Park is still asking residents who incurred flood damage at their homes to fill out surveys. The three-page questionnaire, which will help officials determine who is eligible for public assistance, is posted on the village’s website, oak-park.us.
More than 250 Oak Parkers had submitted the surveys as of Monday, according to Rob Cole, assistant village manager. Residents who miss out on the survey will get another chance in the future, when the county circles back to do a more detailed assessment of the flood damage, he added.
Meanwhile, Waste Management is continuing to pick up flood debris free of charge if residents leave items out by their garbage during their normal pickup day. Public works is asking residents to call first (708-358-5700) so they can keep a record of the pickups.
Jeff Danielski, 39, left a pile of debris in front of his home for the garbagemen on Monday, after more than 8 inches of water filled his basement last month. He estimates the damage to be upwards of $15,000 to his finished basement. He hopes Oak Park is better prepared next time flooding occurs.
“I think everybody understands that you can’t construct an entire sewage infrastructure to the worst-case scenario” he said. “I don’t know what, realistically, they can do in terms of a mass solution to the problem, but I would definitely like to see them figure out what resources are available for residents. That’s just a must after this happened twice in such a short period of time, and given the fact that we’re looking at pretty obvious long-term changes in the weather.”