Palatine Residents Seek Flooding Solutions

Palatine resident Barb Morris returned from vacation a couple of weeks ago to find her basement filled with water.

Morris said her basement took on 21/2 feet of water.

"My whole basement is a disaster area," she said.

Morris was one of many residents who endured flood damage in the wake of a on the village between

However, Morris told the Village Board on Monday that flooding in her neighborhood in the 900 block of Saratoga in the Reseda subdivision is nothing new.

"I have lived in the same house for 10 years and in 10 years our street has flooded three times," Morris said.

Morris said that she was at the board meeting on behalf of many in her neighborhood who hope the village will find a way to mitigate flooding issues.

"That street needs to be looked at," Morris said, adding that the homes on Saratoga would have flooded regardless of electricity outages, given the area’s history.

Palatine Village Manager Reid Ottesen said more than $17 million had been spent since 2001 on projects meant to reduce flooding.

However, improvements identified for Saratoga have not been completed. These include adding inlets to the sewer system to improve how fast water can enter it. Also, the village had planned to resurface the street to improve water flow.

Ottesen said much of the flooding Palatine had occurred because of power outages, which resulted in sump pumps not working.

Ottesen said residents who sustained uninsured flood damage should complete an online survey. Cook County is compiling the information and . The survey has to be filled out by Wednesday, Aug. 3.

Also at the meeting was Nicole Carlisle who has lived in the 100 block of South Bothwell Street for 13 years.

Carlisle said the intersection near her home became a lake during the storm. The water surrounded her home and eventually pushed the windows in, filling her basement with water.

"In the 13 years we have lived (here) we have had significant water from these storms at least three times," Carlisle said. "We've lost everything in the basement. It's been a complete disaster."

After the meeting village officials said that area of Bothwell street is a low spot. They said when the storm sewer backs up, the Bothwell area is one of the first to begin flooding. Also, the area is low in relation to Salt Creek, which contributes to the problem.

Ottesen said some of the improvements needed to address Bothwell would fall under the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago.

Ottesen said Palatine is evaluating how the storm sewers performed throughout the village and assessing the village’s ongoing flooding problems.