Watershed News, Events
Subwatersheds
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Newport Drain
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Mill Creek
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Upper Des Plaines
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New Buffalo Creek Clean Water Partnership Meets April 25th
You are invited to participate in the first public meeting of the Buffalo Creek Clean Water Partnership. BCCWP will strive to address issues such as flooding and erosion, water quality and habitat loss along the stream that drains parts of eleven communities in northern Cook and southern Lake Counties.
We will meet on Wed., April 25, 7 p.m. Village of Buffalo Grove's Council chambers, 50 Raupp Boulevard, Buffalo Grove. SMC, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD), Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (I-EPA), among other agencies, will participate and lead discussions of issues, providing opportunities for citizens and communities to learn and voice their concerns.
Did you know these facts about Buffalo Creek?
- Buffalo Creek drains an area of twenty seven square miles, with headwaters in Lake Zurich, Deer Park, Inverness, Barrington and Palatine.
- Tributaries flow through Long Grove, Kildeer and Arlington Heights before collecting in the reservoir in Buffalo Creek Forest Preserve.
- Buffalo Creek continues through Buffalo Grove before discharging into the Des Plaines River near Wheeling and Prospect Heights.
- Local communities, SMC and MWRD and other agencies are working to reduce the risk of flooding and erosion damage along the creek.
- Water quality issues include chloride, phosphorus, low dissolved oxygen, suspended solids and fecal coliform.
- A wetland mitigation project is underway at Deer Grove Forest Preserve in Palatine and another is planned for Buffalo Creek Forest Preserve in Long Grove.
- Additional storm water storage, native habitats and recreation opportunities are planned for Heritage Park in Wheeling.
- Citizens and communities can make a difference in the public and environmental health of Buffalo Creek!
Please plan to join us on April 25. If you would like more information, please contact Jeff Weiss, founder, Buffalo Creek Clean Water Partnership at 847.224.0965 or marjeff1@aol.com.
Des Plaines Phase II Watershed Plan
The Upper Des Plaines River watershed, located in northeastern Illinois, Lake and Cook Counties, and Kenosha and Racine Counties in southeastern Wisconsin, is subject to significant flooding caused by lack of channel capacity of the mainstem of the Des Plaines River and tributuries to carry major flows during storms. Historical flooding in 1986 and 1987 resulted in over $100 million in damages. Many communities along the river, such as Gurnee, Libertyville, Vernon Hills, Wheeling, Prospect Heights, Des Plaines, Schiller Park, Elmwood Park, and Riverside suffered significant damage.
Over the past several years, key state and local agencies have joined to form an Advisory Committee to identify ways to (1) provide a higher level of flood damage protection, and (2) incorporate ecosystem restoration and recreation in to an overall watershed management plan for the Upper Des Plaines and its tributaries. The Des Plaines Phase II study reach of the Des Plaines basin drains approximately 456 square miles of land.
Planning objectives include the development of a multi-purpose flood management plan for the Upper Des Plaines River and tributuries. The study will also identify other federal funding opportunities available to address the issues presented on the Upper Des Plaines River.
The Phase II study has Congressional Authorization, wich means federal funds have been allocated for plan development. Local, state and federal grants, along with local cost-share cash and in-kind services will contribute to the overall plan funding.
Project Management Team members include: SMC, Lake County, Cook County, Lake County Forest Preserve District, Cook County Forest Preserve District, Upper Des Plaines River Ecosystem Partnership, Northwest Municipal Conference, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, Illinois Office of Water Resources, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-Chicago District, and the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission.
