Latest news with #StormwaterMasterPlan
Chicago Tribune
26-05-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Hickory Ridge flood control project underway in Merrillville
Some 400 residents in and around the former Hickory Ridge apartment complex are getting 2.73 million gallons of water storage — and lower flood insurance bills — via a partnership between the Town of Merrillville and Little Calumet River Basin Development Commission. The 8.4-acre trench to the west of The Ridge apartments, on 57th and Hayes Street, has been under construction for several months and is expected to be completed within a month or so, Merrillville Stormwater Utility Executive Director Matt Lake said Thursday during an onsite groundbreaking ceremony. The next time they're out on the scene, they may need to hold a ribbon-cutting, he joked. 'The purpose of this project is to provide a substantially higher level of flood control,' Lake said. 'This project provides about 2.73 million gallons of storage as well as improved conveyances and rehabilitation of a pump system, all combined to assist this area.' The project has been many years in the making – 17 years, to be exact, Lake said. In September 2008, the trajectory of flood mitigation changed in two days when nine inches of rain deluged Northwest Indiana. 'Stormwater mitigation was a relatively new thing, and we weren't required to do a lot of things,' he said. '(After that storm) we really started taking flood control much more seriously.' The town started acquiring the easements it needed for The Ridge project — never an easy, short task, Lake and Burke Engineering Vice President of Water Resources Darren Olson agreed — and in 2014, it created a Stormwater Master Plan with about $20 million worth of mitigation projects that the town has been checking off one by one, Lake said. The Ridge project, at $2.1 million, is one of the bigger ones. 'Everyone does stormwater master plans now; having a road map, especially for big-dollar projects, is important,' Lake said. When completed, the project will have replaced all the underground pipes with bigger ones as well as place the pump and lift station mostly underground, Lake and Olson said. Project contractor Dyer Construction will the redo the road and install sidewalks along the length of the project. While keeping water out of residents' basements — and in the case of The Ridge tenants, their whole apartments — is the big goal, helping them keep their flood insurance is a bonus, Lake said. Projects like the new pump system give that area of Merrillville a lower rating on the National Flood Insurance Program's Community Rating System, which means lower flood insurance rates. Lake credited the Merrillville Town Council and Stormwater Board for 'making the tough decisions but gave special thanks to the Little Calumet River Basin Development Commission, which gave the town $932,168 in cost-share dollars for the project. The rest of it, he said, was paid for purely through town stormwater fees. 'We didn't bond out at all for this – in fact, our bonds are all paid off,' he said. Council President Rick Bella, D-5, said he was happy to see it's almost finished and that he supports any project that benefits residents.
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
St. Augustine considers eminent domain to build a seawall along Lake Maria Sanchez
The City of St. Augustine says it will use eminent domain, if necessary, in its efforts to build a seawall on private property along the perimeter of Lake Maria Sanchez to mitigate flooding caused by high tides, storm surge and rising sea levels. Historically vulnerable to flooding, recent hurricanes exacerbated the problem with the area's roadways and drainage systems. According to city documents, the project will upgrade the existing stormwater infrastructure, install a stormwater pump station and tide check valves, and construct a flood wall along the marsh lining the south side of South Street. The seven-foot, sheet-pile wall will stand hip-height, three feet out of the ground. The project aims to protect the 200 acres that include Lincolnville and downtown's historic structures listed on the National Register of Historical Places, as well as homes, churches, schools and businesses. Funding will be shared between the Department of Environmental Protection's Resilient Florida Grant Program – almost $20 million – and the city – a little more than $10 million. Years in the making, the project now remains at a standstill by three property owners living in homes along the marsh who refuse to negotiate constructing the seawall on their property. According to Jessica Beach, the city's chief resilience officer, the project stems from the city's 2013 Stormwater Master Plan. 'FEMA funding from Hurricane Matthew gave us the ability to design a fairly complicated plan, which began years ago,' she told the St. Augustine Record. 'Now, delays are mainly due to the city's need to construct a floodwall on private property and our inability to do so.' Beach said the city has been engaging with the homeowners "for quite some time," to ensure they understand the benefit the project will provide for the entire community. Beach said that because the design is complicated, litigation may stall the onset of construction for years. Currently, the three-phase project begins with securing permits and easements along with finalizing the design and bid documents. Phase two includes bidding and securing the construction contract and the final phase is construction. Despite the city's efforts, which include appraising property values to purchase the property, the project remains at a standstill. Aesthetics and decreasing the homes' property values have been considered within 'detailed appraisals by experienced appraisers.' 'We will compensate for the infrastructure and the property owners don't have to pay a dime to build the easement, which will provide flood protection for their property,' Beach said. 'We're willing to compensate and offers have been made, but we've been unsuccessful in getting an agreement.' Beach emphasized that despite the city's ability to use eminent domain, its preference still lies with negotiating voluntary easements. However, the easement must be secure in order to complete the project's final design. While the community has offered overwhelming support through signed petitions and public comments at commission meetings, those in opposition have remained silent. Beach said that one resident hired an eminent domain lawyer. 'I think that's what's forcing us down this path,' she said. 'Eminent domain is our last resort. But we're pushing hard because the project serves the public's best interest for the reduction of flooding for the city's community and its residents.' The Daily Briefing Get the latest St. Augustine news in your email each day. Sign up for The Record's newsletter Mayor Nancy Sikes-Kline underscored that the city is not taking anyone's property away from them or ruining anyone's view. 'This drainage project is designed to resist flooding not only within the immediate area, but within 200 acres of St. Augustine's most important architecture that remains irreplaceable in its value to the city,' she told the St. Augustine Record. 'Preserving these unique and rare buildings is our identity; it's the core value of who we are.' Sikes-Kline said that because the project serves the city's 'greater good,' the city will move forward to complete it. 'I'd like to thank the residents for the patience,' she said. 'We know the stakes are high and that nothing is going to happen quickly, but we're doing all that we can to work as expediently as we can.' This article originally appeared on St. Augustine Record: St. Augustine considers eminent domain to build long-sought seawall
