Ryan Awards $1.2 Million Illinois FIRST Grant for Des Plaines Flood Control

DES PLAINES -- Governor George H. Ryan today announced $1.2 million in Illinois FIRST funds to improve storm water drainage as part of flood control efforts in the Des Plaines River watershed.

"Alleviating flooding on these waterways is a priority for my administration and will save millions of dollars in damage for homeowners and business people in the Des Plaines area," Ryan said. "These funds are part of our commitment to comprehensive flood control efforts in the Des Plaines River basin in northeastern Illinois."

The $1.2 million in Illinois FIRST funding for the Farmer's and Prairie creeks in Des Plaines and Maine Township in Cook County is through the Illinois Department of Natural Resources Office of Water Resources. The funds will provide for acquisition of excavating equipment for channel maintenance and for the design and implementation of channel restoration and flood control work on Farmer's and Prairie creeks. Ultimately the project will increase channel capacity and reduce erosion along the creeks, which flow into the River.

Ryan noted that the state also provided $6.5 million for the Rand Park flood protection project on the River in Des Plaines and Park Ridge. The $7.8 million project includes construction of culverts, pump stations, levees, floodwalls, flood closure gates and a trail adjoining a 3,800-foot section of the River near Rand Road and Interstate 294. The project will be completed in cooperation with the cities of Des Plaines and Park Ridge, the Illinois Department of Transportation and the Cook County Forest Preserve District.

The Rand Park project is one element of $49 million in planned flood control projects, including nearly $32 million in federal funds, on the upper Des Plaines River from the Illinois-Wisconsin line south to Riverside. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers feasibility study of Des Plaines River flood control recommended construction of a series of levee improvements and flood water storage reservoirs to ease flood damages of more than $25 million annually in the Des Plaines River basin.