The July 23 storm that dropped nearly 7 inches of rain, and flooded homes throughout the Chicago area, has since brought another flood to Mount Prospect – nearly 700 homeowners reporting basement or other structural damage to their homes.
Last week, Mount Prospect officials responded to that flood of complaints with an unprecedented plan to inspect damaged property house by house. The village will augment its staff with employees from the Downers Grove office of Burns & McDonnell, a Kansas City-based engineering firm, under a $44,500 contract.
The complaints began with a relative trickle when several dozen Mount Prospect homeowners came to the Aug. 2 village board meeting, to tell trustees horror stories of deeply flooded basements, and to complain of perceived inaction by village employees.
Based on flooding reports then and since, village staff identified two large areas in town where flooding was particularly severe.
The first is Hatlen Heights, a single-family residential subdivision in the southwest corner of the village, where 48 of 354 homes reported basement or structure flooding as a result of the July 23 storm.
Much of the flooding there came from backed-up sanitary sewers. However, village staff reported some “dramatic flooding” from water traveling over land.
The second area, North Pine/North Wille near the center of town, includes over 1,000 homes, three multifamily buildings and 10 commercial buildings. Serious flooding was reported in 100 homes there.
While most flooding was from a combination of backed-up sanitary and storm sewers, some homes there also were flooded by water traveling over land.
Of the 700 affected homes in the village, staff will be able to complete about 200 building inspections, according to Sean Dorsey, director of public works.
Dorsey told trustees that covering the remaining 500 homes will require outside assistance.
Trustees want to make sure the inspections look at all possible causes for flooding, so that effective solutions can be found.
“This is critical information for us to have,” said Mayor Irvana Wilks, “to help us all understand what the issues are.”
Dorsey said the Burns & McDonnell project manager has over 20 years experience working with the village as a consultant. The firm has agreed to use semi-retired staff for the home inspections at a flat rate of $45 per building.
