Union Ditch
Water is one of our very most important resources. Changes in the patterns of storm water management can have impacts beyond what many see. Strategies to address storm water management can also have a huge effect on property rights.
DeKalb County has recently applied for a Watershed Planning Grant for our area. In the interest of letting our readers know what is going on in local government, we are sharing the most recent DeKalb County Community Foundation’s email newsletter article about Community Initiatives:
The DeKalb County Community Foundation (DCCF) reached a major milestone earlier this month when the County of DeKalb submitted an application to the Illinois EPA for a Watershed Planning Grant on behalf of the DeKalb County Stormwater Management Committee and the DCCF CommunityWorks Land Use Committee.
Problems with flooding and stormwater have been identified as common and important concerns facing all communities within DeKalb County as well as property owners in unincorporated areas. The total grant for the planning project is $114,955, of which the DCCF is providing $30,000 in cash matching funds through its CommunityWorks Initiative.
DCCF is partnering with DeKalb County and the DeKalb County Stormwater Management Committee to provide additional in-kind support to secure the planning grant, news of which is expected in January 2013. If funded, the planning process will take place over 18 months and involve a watershed-based approach to stormwater assessment and planning. The area of focus is the Union Ditch /Virgil Ditch (links added) watersheds, which includes the City of Sycamore and areas extending east into Kane County and south to Maple Park and the north side of Cortland.
For more information, contact Anita Zurbrugg, Program Director, anita@dekalbccf.org.
Click Here To Submit A News Tip Or Story
1 Comment
Leave a Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.
When DeKalb County and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced several weeks ago that Evergreen Village in Sycamore would be bought out and residents relocated using federal grant funds, I did a little research on why it floods.
I tracked by satellite view the course of the Kishwaukee River flowing adjacent (and occasionally through) Evergreen Village. I found it originates to the southeast at Union/Virgil Ditch. Nothing seemed extraordinary until one significant observation dawned on me.
The Ditch becomes more of a river once it passes the Vulcan (former Larson) Quarry. Why is this significant? Well, ask any farmer how much water is held by his fields. And about field tiles underneath which carry that water, especially during heavy rains, to the nearest ditch or waterway. There’s a lot of subsurface water!
Have you ever looked over the edge of a quarry? Subsurface! Abandoned quarry? Lake! Yes. Quarries play a role, for good or bad, in water management. Operating quarries have BIG PUMPS to keep the bottom of the quarry dry. Especially BIG PUMPS RUNNING during heavy rain events.
So I now wonder just how much water Vulcan Quarry captures and pumps into the Kishwaukee River during those occasional events that flood Evergreen Village. Is the quarry a flood retention pond or artificial headwaters?
Do you suppose this is why the county now wants to study Union Ditch? I hope they take a long look at the size and operation of those pumps.
And I sort of wonder…why didn’t they do the study BEFORE buying Evergreen Village?