How DuPage Retention Lake #4 Exceeded the Height of the Berms

On April 18, the wetlands that are a part of COD rose to such a height that those wetlands became contiguous with retention lake #4. As this was occurring, a river formed on the western boundary of the College of DuPage, which ran from lake #3 and the college property southward into lake #4. That river parallelled the flow of an underground 42 inch diameter connection between lakes #3 and #4. Capacity of lake #4 was exceeded and it rose to such a height as to overflow the bounds of the berms on the south side of the lake.

The outflow of lake #4 is restricted by the county, which controls both this lake, and upstream lake #3. It's my opinion that flooding is unavoidable with the present arrangement.

If you want to argue about this, I suggest you view the following video which shows the situation between about 8:40am and 12:40pm on April 18, 2013. During this entire episode, the western part of the College of DuPage campus was "high and dry." The water containment systems at the college failed because they DID NOT impede the flow of water from the college to lake #4. This excessive flow to COD's marsh and then into lake #4 exceeded the capacity of the lake. Nearby residents paid the price. It is also possible that the systems of the DuPage Water Commission also failed.

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On April 23, via email, links to this video were sent to the Mayor of Wheaton, three members of the City Council, a City Engineer, and to a member of the DuPage County Board. I do appreciate that these people have a lot to do and so I didn't expect a reply at this time. 

This problem remains a situation involving the College of DuPage, the City of Wheaton, the County of DuPage which now has certain jurisdiction over the college, and the Village of Glen Ellyn in which this college officially resides.  On reading this list, you might think it is somewhat like that old joke "How many people does it take to screw in a light bulb?" COD stonewalled our concerns for about 18 months, and those of the Village of Glen Ellyn for far longer. It will be up to the County to sort this out, as they are probably the only body with sufficient leverage to do so. 

This problem transcends the college, but that doesn't give them an out. The fact is, there is a serious flood water retention problem in this part of Glen Ellyn and Wheaton. At present, this part of Wheaton bears the brunt of the floodwater from the North and East, and immediately east is the 270+ acres of the College of DuPage.

Here in this 336 owner association, the board has made some drainage improvements to alleviate standing water. At the time, some owners were impatient and I stated "We can't solve this problem until we decide how to avoid pushing it onto someone else. " In other words, simply piping water downstream and into someone else's lap is not a solution. Some of our owners were unhappy to hear that, but we persisted and within two years an acceptable solution was designed and installed.

Unfortunately, not everyone around us shares this type of responsible attitude about how to deal with these problems. That includes others in nearby communities, the College, and perhaps even the County. I have no idea what it will take for them to get together to solve this. Until they do, it will happen again, and again, and again. As I stated to a nearby resident, it isn't possible to build the berms on Lake #4 high enough to solve this problem, unless it is walled off from Lake #3, the College and its marsh, which serves as a runoff point for the southwest corner of the College. But perhaps that is what it will take. Of course, that will flood out homeowners in South Wheaton, but from a slightly different source. I suppose they can then go to the next "Meet and Greet" suare' with Dr. Breuder of the College and complain. 

I suspect a lot of people hope this problem "will go away" but it won't. Apparently a lot of homeowners in Briacliffe didn't realize the magnitude of this problem. If elections are any indication, the very low voter turnout a few weeks ago underscored the obliviousness of many in this community.