CME.15 – Western Springs, Illinois Flood Control Project
Team Members Heading link
- Froylan Castillo Jr
- Haley Dahl
- Wiktoria Danowska
- Luis Lopez
- Karen Moreno
- Hector Tellez
Project Description Heading link
The Village of Western Springs (Village) is a western suburb of Chicago, IL. Due to the nature of weather patterns in northeastern Illinois combined with the urbanized region, the Village has been experiencing significant local flooding, causing damage to the surrounding community. Particular streets within the Village that are experiencing flooding are Howard Avenue at 53rd Street and the 5300-5400 block of Franklin Avenue, near Springdale Park. Our capstone project is to utilize the park as a flood storage area, which could act as a multi-purpose field. This will mitigate the local flooding issue, as well as provide a functional green space for the surrounding community to enjoy together.
To accomplish this, we plan to design a system of green and gray infrastructure, which includes underground flood storage, in tandem with green infrastructure, recreational fields, a walking trail, all while preserving mature trees in the southeast corner of the park. Green infrastructure will serve as the first line of defense, collecting runoff in bioswales. Any overflow runoff will be diverted to the underground detention facility, which safely stores water and conveys it to the storm sewer network at the local allowable rate. This design will have the ability to greatly reduce and/or prevent the flood damage experienced in the Village, all while updating the park’s amenities.