Flooding South and West of COD - This is A Solvable Problem

I've received several emails and had some conversations with my neighbors south of BLMH, which is "ground zero" in this situation.

Here's my position
1. This is a solvable problem. The entities involved do have the necessary resources to do this. So the important question to ask is "What's missing?" Once that is determined, any impediments to a solution can be removed so the problem can be solved.

2. This is a large problem which cannot be solved unless the County of DuPage, College of DuPage, Village of Glen Ellyn and City of Wheaton get together with the political will to make it happen.

3. The college has sufficient funds to do this. In fact, according to a recent COD press release "On Wednesday April 23, 2013, College of DuPage is offering for sale $84,000,000 of Triple-A rated General Obligation Community College Bonds, Series 2013A." These bonds are a promise to collect taxes and repay these loans. What is lacking is the will to spend this in a way that will solve the flood problems caused by the college. However, the sources of rainwater into Lakes #3 and #4 are not solely from the college.

4. Residents of neighboring communities as well as Community School District 502 must also exert pressure on the county and COD to create  change. After all, this college is a publicly funded college. It receives 3.5% of my real estate tax bill, and has floated $340.3 million of outstanding GO debt (according to Moody's, much for the recent expansion program). Those bonds are loans which will be repaid by the taxpayers. Community School District 502 includes most of DuPage County as well as portions of Cook and Will Counties. It is inseparable from the County of DuPage.

5. Anger is not going to help. Yes, we do have an entrenched and non-responsive college comprised of its board of trustees, the president and other aspects of the administration. For some of us, the college has become a poster child for big spending, big taxing and big problem government. However, I must also point out that the March election which included a slate of trustees for the college had a miserable voter turnout in the immediate area. Perhaps this flood event will get a few people involved. The real question is "What kind of responsible involvement will it take to get this done?" This is not the time to get angry, vent or lash out. This is the time to channel that anger to get results!

6. I've received several emails about this problem. One of the questions I was asked was "What are you going to do about this?" That question is so inadequate. This isn't about water in one garage, or a personal vendetta against a college; which I certainly do not have. It's about solution and transformation. It's about using this situation as an opportunity to transform local government and that college. It's about altering priorities. If we succeed, this problem will be resolved once and for all. We could also gain a more responsive and responsible college and local governments. The college may again become something neighbors will be proud of, instead of something many of us have come to loath and observe helplessly, while it spends millions of taxpayer dollars on white elephant projects.

What Needs to Be Done

1. The college must do more, a lot more, to retain the water that falls on its property. Every time this area gets a 50-or 100-year rainfall the land to the south of the college is inundated with runoff. Removal of soccer practice fields to provide additional surface parking and a new maintenance building has been achieved by building a network of underground rainwater sewers to carry water off of the campus, and to the southwest corner of the campus. The effort which culminated in "pond 9" was insufficient. Every time this area gets excessive rainfall the communities around the college are flooded, while the college sits substantially high and dry.
2. Studies have been done after recent floods. One was done in 1996. What became of it? How was it used? This is another opportunity for another useless study. That approach is unacceptable. It didn't work in the past, and it won't work now.

Here is what REALLY must be done.
This is the responsibility of COD, the County of DuPage and its "District 502", the Village of Glen Ellyn in which the college resides and the City of Wheaton. The previous approach of protecting individual turfs and literally "pushing the water and problems downstream" is unacceptable. Residents should be outraged that these groups have failed miserably while $tens of millions have been spent of public money. This is an affluent county, but we don't have taxpayer dollars to spend foolishly or to flush.

Yes, we should be outraged. However, anger is not the answer.

Political will must be created to change this situation. To put it bluntly elected officials and professional managers should all be removed if they will not work together to correct this problem. I say again, this is a solvable problem. A lack of political will has been, in my opinion, the number one impediment.

A Solution
With good information a real solution can be achieved (see "We Need an Independent and Community Approach" later in this post). However, this is not rocket science, nor is it a time for another bottomless and non-performing study, or for a band-aid approach. A solution can be accomplished very quickly and without a lot of studies.

1. It's time for this game of "musical chairs" to end. What is required is a cohesive, unified and manageable flood control approach. 
2. How much stormwater is currently retained on CODs property? How much should be?
3. How much needs to be stored in Lakes #3, CODs wetland, and Lake #4?
4. What changes should be made to the capacity of CODs ponds, wetlands, Lakes #3 and #4?
5. What changes need to be made to the stormwater discharge system of Lake #4 so that it can convey the water downstream and avoid flooding?
6. Should COD's wetlands and portions of its western campus be condemned and seized so the County can build a proper retention lake, and maintain it?
7. Should Lakes #3 and #4 which receive runoff from Glen Ellyn, Wheaton and COD's campus also be seized by the county so it can be integrated into a larger capacity stormwater retention system? 
8. Who is going to get the job done?

A Personal Challenge to the College
Last year Dr. Breuder stated a problem of the college which is the cost of  water for the extensive landscaping on the campus. That includes not only grassy areas, but also waterfalls and decorative ponds.  This is paid using taxpayer dollars and student tuitions!

I find it ironic that the most recent issue of IMPACT (volume 3, No. 1), a PR publication of COD had a masthead article entitled "Standing on "HIGH GROUND""

Here is my challenge to Dr. Breuder and the Board of Trustees of the College:

1. It's time to alter your priorities. Or, at the very least, expand them!
2. Design and install a system to retain far more "rainwater." How about "all rainwater?"
3. Use some of that captured water to irrigate the acres of decorative systems on the campus. How elegant, as opposed to a new well or wells and a water tower!
4. Get creative! COD didn't make the list of 2012 best for architecture and green campuses. Spending money is easy. Spending it wisely and to great purpose is far, far more difficult!
5. Do this in a way that is responsible, and serves the needs of the neighboring community as well as the perceived needs of the College of DuPage.
6. Install the solutions in the center of the campus, instead of pushing them to the outlying areas where the "neighbors" need to look at them. Perhaps an even better location would be within view of the hotel and 4-star restaurant built with taxpayer dollars, and which operate at a loss and must be floated on the backs of the  taxpayers and the students?

We Need an Independent and Community Approach
An independent survey of the situation must be done and done right. One that doesn't protect fiefdoms, political and entrenched positions. I assert that's what we've gotten for the past few decades.

Here are important questions to ask:

1. What's the excess capacity of Lake #3 above its normal capacity e.g. the normal waterline. That's the amount of rainwater it can really handle. The total volume of the lake is a meaningless number.

2. What's the excess capacity of Lake #4 above it's normal capacity e.g. the normal waterline. That's the amount of rainwater it can really handle. The total volume of the lake is a meaningless number.

3. What's the capacity of the underground storm sewers carrying stormwater into Lake #3? How many gallons per hour are conveyed into this lake from "upstream?"

4. What's the capacity of the underground storm sewers carrying stormwater from Lake #3 into Lake #4? How many gallons per hour are conveyed into this lake from "upstream?" Any excess will flood.

5. What's the capacity of COD's wetlands on the southwest corner of the campus? By capacity, I mean capacity above the weir on COD property and before it overflows COD's property. Any excess will flood.

6. What's the capacity of the discharge of Lake #4 and to points downstream and to the southwest? By capacity, I mean "safe" capacity and below the overflow point at the discharge. Any excess will flood.

7. What is the precise nature of the network of underground storm sewers on the COD property? How much rainwater are they designed to convey, and where do these sewers convey it?

8. How much rainwater does COD receive in a so called "100-year" rainfall event? I'd like to compare that to the retention capacity of the systems of the entire campus, but also to "areas" of the campus, including the various ponds on the college property. This is tens of millions of gallons of water, falling on a property that promptly dispatches most of it elsewhere. Where do those millions of gallons go? How much of it inundates the "wetlands" in the southwest corner of the campus, only to flow into the neighborhood? Again, any excess will flood.

Notes:
How much rainfall does the COD campus receive in a significant rainfall event? Here's the answer, provided by the calculators of the NOAA:

273 acres = 11,900,000 square feet.

A storm of 9 inches of rainfall on that area results in 8,925,000 cubic feet of water, which is 66,800,000 gallons of water.

How much do we owe for the COD expansion?
You, fellow taxpayer, are on the hook to repay $340 MILLION!

According to the financial statements of the college "The College levies an annual property tax for the repayment of these bonds. "

So how much will the taxpayer repay? This is quoting Moody's, a bond rating service. The quote is dated April 16, 2013:

"The Series 2013 bonds are secured by the district's general obligation property tax pledge, unlimited as to rate or amount, and will finance capital improvements to district facilities, including renovations to the McAninch Arts Center, Seaton Computing Center and Physical Education Center. Assignment and affirmation of the Aaa rating incorporates the district's large tax base located in DuPage County (Aaa) with stabilizing enrollment trends; sound financial operations supported by healthy and growing reserves; and a manageable debt profile."

Note: highlights in the above Moody's rating are mine.