Grassmere, Haverton, and Oaksbury Pond Drainage Improvements Project

Project Update: August 2024

Background

For many years, the Village has experienced flooding on Haverton Way, Route 59, and in the Oaksbury Subdivision. The cause of the flooding is due to failed drainage systems that traverse private property. These drainage systems that are mostly open drainage channels, old drain tiles, and swales through the Haverton on the Pond subdivision, Grassmere Farm subdivision, and Oaksbury subdivisions have been failing for many years.

In addition, the storm water pipe under IL Route 59 has failed and is preventing storm water from passing through the pipe (west to east).Instead, the storm water overtops the highway. The drainage systems on the east side of the highway have also failed and are causing the water levels in this area to rise, increasing the standing water on private property.

The Oaksbury Subdivision, more specifically, Duck Pond Ln. and private property is inundated with storm water from time to time during heavy rain events. This is mostly caused by undersized storm water conveyance channels downstream of the Oaksbury Pond located at the end of Duck Pond Ln.

No additional storm water is being conveyed to Oaksbury with this project.The flow of storm water through the Oaksbury area is restricted by the existing storm water pipe under IL Route 22.The restricted flow under the highway has been in place for many years and is not being changed.

Why is the Village Constructing This Project?

The area impacted by the flooding is significant and encompasses more than 300 acres and impacts more than 40 parcels including properties outside of the Village. A project of this magnitude can only be accomplished by a partnership with multiple governmental agencies. No homeowner’s association or private property owner can make the necessary changes to improve the conditions.

The flooding is causing a significant safety concern for motorists on IL Route 59.The flooding is causing public infrastructure to fail, namely Haverton Way in the Haverton on the Pond subdivision, and IL Route 59.Certain private property owners are also seeing a rise in water levels on their property.

Project Funding

The Village of North Barrington is not planning to raise property taxes or any other tax to pay for the project.

The Village was made aware of a unique funding opportunity that is not typically available.The funding for the project is coming from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).The federal government allocated funds through ARPA for storm water mitigation projects.The State of Illinois is one state that is the recipient of these funds.The State designated the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) the grant administrator of the $35 million allocated to Lake County.Lake County Stormwater Management Commission (LCSMC) will be the Lake County governmental agency to receive the funds. LCSMC is currently in the process of reviewing the grant agreement with DCEO that will release the funds.The timing of this is unknown.

Once an Agreement is executed between LCSMC and DCEO, LCSMC will enter into sub-agreements with the fifteen (15) communities that have already been pre-approved by LCSMC for funding.North Barrington’s project is one of the fifteen (15) projects that have been preliminarily approved.However, approval is subject to permitting through multiple governmental agencies and securing all the necessary easements to construct the project.The timing of the permit approval is unknown at this time.

LCSMC has earmarked $2.496 million for the “Grassmere, Haverton, and Oaksbury Pond Drainage Improvements Project”.The Village cost share is 15% of the construction cost which the Village has included $375,000 in the FYE 2025 budget. The Village is also responsible for any costs that exceed the $2.496 million grant.

The preliminary cost estimate is believed to be within the grant funding limit, but until the project is bid on, the final cost will not be known. If the low bid on the project is higher than the grant amount, the Village will need to evaluate its options.The Village may elect to use other funds on hand in its Capital Fund account, defer other capital projects to make funds available, reduce the scope of the project, seek other grant funding opportunities, or choose not to proceed with the project.

Project Status

A draft of the design engineering plans is completed, and permit application has been submitted to the US Army Corp of Engineers.Submission of permit application to the Illinois Department of Transportation, Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, and Lake County Stormwater Management Commission are anticipated by the end of August.The review and approval process will take several months, and the plans may be amended through the process.It is anticipated that the Village will get approval in December 2024, but the Village has no control over the other agencies’ approval process.

The overall project design is dependent on securing fourteen (14) easements from private property owners.The Village is in the process of scheduling a second round of meetings between the Village and affected property owners.The meetings will focus specifically on the design and easements needed to construct the project.The easement documents have been revised based on the changes in engineering design and feedback from affected property owners.This is a fluid process, and further changes may be needed based on review comments from the permitting agencies and/or property owner.

The project start date is targeted for Spring/Summer 2025.