DuPage County Stormwater Management is currently operating Spring Creek Reservoir (Bloomingdale) and the Armstrong Park Reservoirs (Carol Stream), as well as several smaller, gravity-operated flood control facilities, following rainfall Thursday.
Beginning early Thursday, DuPage County received up to two inches of rainfall countywide with the National Weather Service forecasting an additional 0.5 inches of precipitation through Friday. DuPage County staff anticipates stream elevations in Salt Creek and the West Branch DuPage River will rise enough to trigger operation of some of the County’s other large flood control facilities, including the Elmhurst Quarry and Wood Dale-Itasca Reservoir later today and Fawell Dam (Naperville) overnight.
Of the 16 flood-control facilities DuPage County operates, five larger facilities have mechanical equipment allowing staff to control them according to a predetermined operating plan. The remaining facilities protect the surrounding areas from flooding without human intervention using fixed weirs and natural drainage systems. In total, the facilities have a floodwater storage capacity of nearly four billion gallons.
DuPage County Stormwater Management staff will continue to monitor stream elevations throughout the event and provide updates as they become available. Be advised that rainfall could produce localized and/or flash flooding, especially in low-lying areas.
For more information, local agencies and residents may visit http://ec.dupageco.org/dec/stormwater/watershed/index.html to learn about flood control facilities throughout the County, as well as to view rain and stream gauges, forecasts and real-time pictures.
