Title
Storm Water Detention Basin Maintenance Program Comprehensive Update
History
The information below is provided as a comprehensive overview.
The Village of Orland Park is predominantly flat but has seven (7) watersheds that carry water away via creeks: Tinley Creek, Mill Creek, Marley Creek, Long Creek, Spring Creek, Hickory Creek, and Midlothian Creek. Tinley Creek flows north and east into the Forest Preserve, then into Crestwood, ending up in the Cal Sag. Midlothian Creek flows east and then north finally ending up in Cal Sag. Mill Creek flows north through the McGinnis Slough and then along Southwest Highway through Palos Park ending up in Cal Sag. Long Creek flows northwest into Tampier Lake in the Forest Preserve and then through the Forest Preserve to Cal Sag. Marley Creek flows southwest through Lake Sedgewick and then along the railroad into Mokena and New Lenox, ending up in Hickory Creek and the Des Plaines River. Hickory Creek starts along Orland Parkway and flows southwest until it gets to the Des Plaines River. Spring Creek flows southwest through Homer Glen and Joliet, connects with Hickory Creek, and ends up in the Des Plaines River. Based on the watersheds, all water goes to the Des Plaines River via Cal Sag or Hickory Creek.
The storm conveyance system in the Village consists of a lake, creeks, detention basins, and storm piping, and is permitted and mandated by the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) for design and maintenance. The conveyance system is interlocked between Village/publicly owned and maintained infrastructure, and privately owned and maintained infrastructure, including creeks and detention basins. There are over five hundred (500) detention basins (dry and wet) in the Village, with over three hundred twenty one (321) privately owned and one hundred seventy eight (178) publicly owned. In addition, there are many locations where creeks cross privately owned land without a public easement. Because of this interlocked system where water may pass through public and private infrastructure, all entities must work together to maintain the system. All new developments are permitted with MWRD, and require a Homeowner’s Association (HOA) to be responsible for maintenance. While many homeowners often consider wet detention basins as ponds and water features, their main function is to serve as detention/retention for storm water to protect homes/ businesses.
As the Village has developed since 1893, developments have changed and shaped the typography of the land. These changes sometimes have not fully met high storm events causing flooding for residents. Standards for storm designs have improved, and the climate has changed as well. In addition, residents have completed changes on their property that affect water flow patterns such as ditches being filled in, landscaping improvements in back yards, adding structures like pool, sheds, play areas, and fences to the ground that block or redirect flow which all create hazards for other residents. During the early 2000s, major projects were completed to address stormwater concerns. The Village has continued over the past six (6) years many localized storm improvement projects as noted below:
- 2014-2022 - Fernway Subdivision ditches
- 2019 - Fairway Subdivision
- 2021 - Grassland Dam
- 2022 - Southwest Highway Culvert (IDOT)
- 2023 - El Cameo Rael Subdivision
- 2023 - Laguana Subdivision ditches
- 2024 - Highland Ave/Caro Vista
- 2024 - FLC and 88th Ave Culverts
- 2024-2025 - Catalina Subdivision
- 2024-2025 - Old Orland
- 2025 - Orland Hills East/West ditches
These continued improvements are within the Village’s control. There remain three (3) locations where flooding continues to impact residents of the Village along Cook County and State roadways. These were briefed by the Village’s Engineering Department on March 7, 2022:
- 143rd Street (IDOT) - West of Wolf Road at Long Run Creek
- Wolf Road (IDOT) - At 171st Street and just north of Southwest Highway
- Will-Cook Road (CCDOTH) - West of Arbor Lake Park
The Village performs continuous maintenance of the storm system. This includes storm piping and inlet repairs by Public Work’s staff, storm response by Public Work’s staff to remove debris/leaves blocking inlets, and specific areas are monitored during and after storms. The staff also monitors creeks for blockage which causes upstream flooding in ponds and creeks. Beavers also create blockages. Lastly, Public Work’s staff also have awarded and overseen ecological stewardships for detention basins, with over one hundred twenty (120) currently under contract.
Due to the requirement of MWRD, age, lack of knowledge of the condition of the basins, and investment to maintain the infrastructure, on June 21, 2021, the Village awarded a contract to Christopher Burke Engineering (CBBEL) at a cost of $81,950.00 to evaluate the public owned basins (Phase 1). They evaluated eighty-eight (88) dry basins and ninety (90) wet basins to identify any deficiencies. The inspection of each detention basin included infrastructure structures, other utilities, shoreline erosion, energy dissipation, settling, water quality, sedimentation, volume/capacity, encroachment, vegetation, wildlife management, and adjacent land use.
The summary report detailed the condition of each basin, developed short term and long-term restoration projects, and budgeting figures. This included photo documentation of notable issues or major concerns that need to be addressed in a timely manner. The results of the evaluation ranked basins from five (5) to one (1) with five (5) being the worst. On March 2, 2022, the Board was briefed by CBBEL on the results of the conditions of the basins. Ecological restoration projects were to be developed for level five (5) and four (4) basins and budgeted over the next few years.
On May 6, 2022, the Public Works Department issued a request for proposal (RFP) to evaluate one hundred fifty-one (151) dry basins and one hundred seventy (170) wet basins for deficiencies that are privately owned (Phase 2). The inspection was like public owned basins with similar deliverables. The information was to be provided to the owners of the private basins in order to restore their detention basins. The firm would also answer questions and serve as a guide to those property owners. On June 20, 2022, Engineering Resource Associates was awarded the contract for $144,439.90 and on May 1, 2023, the results were presented to the board.
In conjunction, on June 14, 2022, with the results from Phase 1, there were four (4) Level 5 and twenty-four (24) Level 4 detention basins that had become overgrown with excessive weeds, plants, and evasive trees. Public Works obtained quotes from the pre-qualified Ecological Restoration Contractors (ERCs), Cardno Inc., Davey Resource Group, Pizzo & Associates, and V3 Companies to clean these twenty-eight (28) basins with two (2) visits in 2022 and (3) visits in 2023 to conduct clearing mowing, hand cutting, pulling weeds, and herbicide application. On July 18, 2022, the board approved Davey Resource Group to complete work in 2022 and 2023.
From 2023 to 2025, Public Works has been working with the ERCs to get the basins that were five (5) or four (4) down to level three (3) condition or better. A typical restoration project begins with one (1) year of establishment, followed by three (3) to five (5) years of maintenance. Once sites have been restored, stewardships should continue indefinitely at a lower maintenance cost. The scope of work over the stewardship period includes the establishment and maintenance of existing native plantings, the control of invasive woody and herbaceous flora, one (1) prescribed burn (if needed), and supplemental seeding (if needed). Stewardships went from twenty-four (24) basins to one hundred twenty one (121) basins currently (see attached chart for current ponds).
It should be noted that creek maintenance was not part of the evaluation, and due to increased sediment, future work to improve creek capacity will be needed. In addition, some wet basins require work related to dredging to return capacity per MWRD permit. Due to high costs, the most in need will be budgeted for the next water rate study in 2026 and published January 2027.
As noted, stormwater wet basins (ponds) primary function is to serve as a collection of excess runoffs from impervious surfaces like parking lots, sidewalks, and roofs created by urban development. The basins collect the rainwater and slowly release stormwater to streams/creeks or wetlands. The basins mitigate flooding of homes, creek damage, and flooding on properties downstream.
Since February 2011, the Village adopted Basin Best Practices Program (BBPP) to create a unified approach for restoration and stabilization of stormwater basin shorelines. The goals were to establish a comprehensive Village-wide approach to water and basin shoreline management, provide consistency in expectations among all stakeholders, utilize the right resources at the right time provided by the best qualified parties, follow industry best practices for ecological restoration and maintenance.
In selecting the shoreline restoration approach the use of native vegetation versus “hard edge” techniques such as sheet piling or stone riprap was selected. The reasons included sheet piling or stone riprap are costly to install and maintain, native grasses/forbs proven to provide excellent means of erosion control and have been shown to filter out nutrient and sediment runoff from adjacent land, which contributes to improved water quality (ex: Algae growth due to fertilizer), and USEPA, US Army Corps of Engineers, the Morton Arboretum, and the Chicago Botanic Garden utilize native plantings.
The benefits include protecting shorelines from erosion, providing and improving habitat for fish and other wildlife, improving water quality and filter nutrients/sediments, attracting natural wildlife, increasing shoreline stability, and being more resilient than hard edge shorelines over time.
The BBPP encourages the reduction of turf mowing areas around the stormwater basins throughout the Village. As turf grass provides little to no erosion control, bare spots, mower wheel tracks and toe of slope scour are often observable. The Village’s Land Development Code currently requires a minimum of fifteen feet (15’) of native shoreline plantings, also known as buffer yards, around all new stormwater basins (Section 6-305.D.8), with the intent of establishing resilient shorelines and hopefully avoiding the need for future restoration projects. A turf grass shoreline is no longer permitted.
Recommended Action/Motion
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