Brian Slodysko, TribLocal reporter
After being closed for about two years for the construction of storm water projects, Washington Park in Downers Grove is slated to reopen this month.
The park is reopening after the completion of phase one in a series of storm water containment improvements. Coming with a $3 million price tag, the village of Downers Grove, along with the park district, gave the park a facelift that includes massive storm water retention ponds that will drastically alleviate flooding in the area once other phases of the project are complete, said village spokesman Doug Kozlowski.
Youre talking about two detention basins that basically amount to almost nine acres of water storage, Kozlowski said.
The detention ponds are designed to collect and hold water for a limited time, dispersing water into tributaries at metered pace, as opposed to overloading waterways with a massive deluge at once.
The village council approved $538,000 construction bid in August to construct some of the conduits that will route water to the parks newly constructed storage facility.
Creating the storm basins in the park was the first step, Kozlowski said, the second step is building the conduits that will get storm runoff to the park.
You cant do it the other way around because then you would be bringing water to an area that cannot accept it, he said.
By building the facilities in the park, village officials say they are saving money on projects that would inevitably need to be built. For example, if the basins werent built in the park on public grounds, the village would have had to purchase the equivalent of about 19 residential lots a difficult task in a built-out village like Downers Grove, to say nothing of the related costs.
The park will be open to users on a still-unknown day in early September, while the parks grand re-opening is slated for 1 to 3 p.m. Sept. 19. Light refreshments will be provided and local elected officials will be present for the grand reopening, according to park district spokeswoman Brandi Nice.
