09-17-07 Meeting of Drainage and Flooding Committee

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Because this was a cooperative beginning, floodplain management and economic development survived and were beneficial to everyone. I credit the success of our floodplain management program to the very capable Federal Emergency Management Agency's NFIP specialists at Region VIII in Denver, Colorado, for their expert guidance, the developers who showed a genuine concern for their future ten- ants and residents, and, most of all, the Board of Union County Commissioners, who stood behind their ordinance, often at tenuous times, to the betterment of Union County. By adhering to their ordinance, not only did they save countless dollars in potential disaster response and recovery, but they also mitigated the threat to human safety during these operations. This is truly a success story. For more information contact John LaBrune, 115 E. Main, P.O. Box 640, Elk Point, South Dakota, 57025; (605) 356-3242. SEVEN COMMUNITIES TAKE A WATERSHED APPROACH BY PEGGY A. GLASSFORD VILLAGE MANAGER, FLOSSMOOR, ILLINOIS On June 13,1981, it flooded in the Butterfield Creek Watershed. The rain came in torrents, sheets, buckets — it flowed across our communities, filling streets and lapping at doorways. We watched with wonder as the water flowed through our towns — both in and out of creek, ditch, channel, and street. The water's sheer strength was impressive. It was soon to be matched, however, by an equally impressive show of force — this one was political. At the municipal Board meetings following the June storm, it was standing room only. And it was not enough for the local government to say that "God makes rain." The government was under extreme pressure to "do something" about flooding. Political pressure to end flooding resulted in the formation of the Butterfield Creek Steering Committee, a watershed group that began by looking for a quick fix to the flood problem and found instead that the only effective solution is a long, cooperative journey in multi -objective stormwater management. The Butterfield Creek watershed is a 26-square mile area located 30 miles south of Chicago, Illinois. It is a steadily developing watershed with about 65% in typical suburban land use and 20% still agricul- tural. The Watershed Committee is formed by seven communities who send appointed representatives; the group is advisory to the individual communities. When the Committee was first formed, the hope was that by working together, the communities could attract state and federal dollars for a structural solution. The state and federal governments did combine efforts to provide for a significant engineering study which was concluded in 1987. At first, the communities were extremely disappointed with the results of the study. The required benefit/cost ratio was not sufficient to attract federal or state funds for the series of huge detention basins which could bring relatively quick relief. There would be no infusion of money and no easy answers. Although the engineering study did not provide easy solutions, it did reveal three very important facts about our watershed. First, the flood insurance maps for Butterfield Creek were inaccurate. Our recalculated 100-year flood levels are higher — by as much as 2.5 feet in some locations. Second, deten- S u cc e s s Stories 10