How Briarcliffe Neighborhood in Wheaton was Flooded

Here's a link - clicking will open a post dated June 25, 2012, which was sent to municipal and county officials as part of the DuPage County Zoning Appeals for COD. Officials were told in writing of flooding and overflow concerns:  New Window> Flooding Concerns

You can also scroll down to the April 22 post which contains a short (4-1/2 minute) video of the overflow and flooding between Lake #3, COD's wetlands, Lake #4 and runoff from COD's retention "pond 9." This overwhelmed the capacity of Lake #4 and it overflowed its berm.

How did this happen? Here's a quote from my May 10, 2012 statement prepared and submitted as part of the DuPage Zoning Commission hearings about College of DuPage modifications and flood control measures: "We were assured [by the College of DuPage] that the retention area [pond 9] was adequate, that COD had Glen Ellyn storm water permits and that the college was “taking all measures” and this was built to handle “100 year conditions.” We were assured that work would be completed in 2011, and that the college would keep the association informed via our management company (G&D Property Management)."

At the end of this post there is also a link to a short video which was posted earlier, but I've been asked a few questions about it. Here is a description of what it shows about the flood. The following is taken from an April 23rd email communication to the following (I'll be sending a written letter April 26th):

Anthony J. Charlton, P.E – Director and Jim Zay - Chairman, Stormwater Management Planning Committee
Dan Cronin - County Board Chairman
JR McBride – District 4 Board Member
Michael Gresk - Mayor of Wheaton
Mark Franz – Village Manager, Glen Ellyn
Dr. Robert L. Breuder – President, College of DuPage

That communication included a link to the video in this post, and a request that this short (4-1/2 minute) video be viewed. That video is included in my Aprill 22nd post, which you can get to by scrolling down.

Here is a slightly edited version of the April 23rd communication that was sent to the above individuals:

"BLMH is a 336 unit homeowners association situated immediately west of the College of Dupage. It is within the boundaries of the City of Wheaton; COD is within the boundaries of the Village of Glen Ellyn.

Retention Lake #3 (the "north" lake) is immediately to the north of BLMH and Lake #4 (the "south" lake) is immediately to the south, and COD’s wetland is to the southeast. These are defined as “Zone A” on Wheaton-RFM-Panel-0154.pdf, the Regulatory Flood Map of this Quadrangle of Wheaton in DuPage County.

We are slightly south of Briarcliffe Blvd and Fawell (22nd). On the morning of April 18, this association was surrounded on three sides by water. Levels of the retention lakes (#3 and #4) joined by runoff of COD rose to such a height as to be within inches of flooding Dover Ct., Salisbury Ct. and residences on Gloucester Ct. in the association. Had these flooded, it’s unclear precisely where the water would have flowed. That never happened ONLY because Lake #4 overran its berms, draining the system and lowering the level of COD's marsh and lake #4, thereby allowing the area to drain into south Wheaton.

 By 9:20am lake #3 had overrun it’s bank in the southeast corner and joined runoff from the north end of COD’s new “retention” pond to form a fast flowing river which transported a huge quantity of water from Lake #3 and COD’s property to Lake #4. To the East of Gloucester Ct. this body of water was joined by additional runoff from the southern end of COD’s newly completed “retention” pond. This “river” paralleled the route of the underground connection of these two lakes. The water on the surface was trapped by CODs berm installed at its western property line to shield BLMH from their retention pond.

The video shows the situation between about 8:40am and 12:40pm on that day. The COD wetlands and Lake #4 became a single body of water, and the “river” was joined by COD’s retention runoff which flowed into the wetlands and filled both it and Lake #4 to beyond capacity, overrunning berms to the south. It’s unclear of the condition on the south side of the wetlands. We do know that homes on Brentwood Lane in Wheaton were flooded by this. We also know that water continued to flow for several blocks southward, flooding additional homes. The level of lake#4 at that time was above the overflow on the western side of lake #4. In short, the capacity of lake #4 was exceeded, but was restrained by the outflow control devices and the capacity of the underground piping which drains this lake. However, the runoff of COD was not restrained and both lake #3 and lake #4 exceeded capacity. This flooded the adjoining community.

 At these extreme water levels, there was a body of water east of BLMH extending from Lake #3 to Lake #4; the height of this body of water was equal to that of Lake #4. Yet, even at 12:40pm runoff from the “retention” pond of COD continued to fill this body of water. This is clearly shown in the video.

If the berm had not been breached, thereby dropping the lake #4 water level, BLMH would have been under water. That includes Gloucester, Salisbury court and Dover court. Berms and portions of shoreline have been damaged.

These issues were raised when COD removed the soccer practice fields which extended for a large part of their western property as a buffer and additional water retention. These were removed to create parking in 2011 and an area for a new maintenance building. A small water detention area was added, and subsequently increased in size. All of this was approved by the County of DuPage.

However, it appears that the runoff from areas east of this new “retention” pond on the COD campus filled and exceeded the capacity of the newly constructed “retention” pond. I suspect that there is unrestrained flow from COD’s pond(s) east of the retention pond and parking areas, which then overflowed the retention area and exceeded the capacity of Lake #4, COD’s wetlands, and backed up to Lake #3.

This has put hundreds, perhaps a thousand homeowners in a serious situation. This is unacceptable. I am of the opinion the storm water control systems at the College of DuPage are grossly inadequate. It’s not possible for me to ascertain if the situation with Lake #3 is adequate, nor is there a way for me to know precisely how much runoff from COD contributed to that lake level. However, there is at least one drainage connection from the COD property to lake #3. I know, because I’ve photographed it.

We also know that in that 24 hour period, Wheaton officially received 6.91 inch rainfall. I first moved to Wheaton in 1978 and I am aware of more severe rainfalls in Wheaton. I want to know precisely how the County, various municipal officials and the College of DuPage will address and correct this situation. I’m sure hundreds of Briarcliffe residents in Wheaton also want to know how this will be corrected.

Thank you,"

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