South Holland has finished the Thorn Ditch Flood Mitigation Project, an $5.8 million infrastructure effort that gives the village new stormwater storage capacity across two public parks. Village and regional officials marked the completion at a ribbon-cutting Tuesday, capping years of work meant to ease the chronic street flooding that has plagued the south suburb for decades.
The project, as reported by CBS News Chicago, took eight years to complete and provides stormwater storage at Maicach Park and Pioneer Park. According to the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, that translates to 11.8 acre-feet of capacity — enough to hold more than 3.8 million gallons of runoff — built across detention basins at Maicach Park and Pioneer Park. Fifty trees were also planted as part of the project to help absorb stormwater naturally.
Funding Pieced Together From Multiple Agencies
The $5.8 million project was financed through a partnership between MWRD's Stormwater Partnership Program and American Rescue Plan Act funds routed through Cook County, per the MWRD. The county funding was part of the project's broader funding partnership.
The project ultimately cost $5.8 million, according to the Village of South Holland.
Summer Storms Served As A Real-World Test
At the ribbon-cutting, village officials marked completion of the new flood-control infrastructure.
The current phase focused on replacing existing culverts alongside the new retention basins, according to the MWRD. But officials say the work isn't finished. Project partners are already planning a second phase that would replace a remaining culvert, the MWRD notes.
A Village Built On A Former Lakebed
South Holland's flooding problems trace back to its geography. The village experiences chronic overbank flooding from three separate waterways — the Little Calumet River, Thorn Creek and the Calumet Union Drainage Ditch, also known as Thorn Ditch — according to the Village of South Holland. Post-1940s suburban development paved over natural soils in the area, accelerating runoff that once would have been absorbed into the ground.
The project's flood-mitigation work is intended to reduce flooding in the village.
Decades Of Local Floodproofing Efforts
That track record has translated into tangible savings for residents. South Holland maintains a Flood Assistance Rebate Program that reimburses homeowners 25% — up to $2,500 — for private floodproofing work such as foundation waterproofing and overhead sewers. By February 2019, 1,172 households had received rebates, according to the Pew Charitable Trusts.
That record has translated into tangible savings for residents. South Holland has also pursued floodplain-protection efforts.
Taken together, the newly completed basins, the ongoing culvert replacement effort and the decades-old rebate program reflect a layered approach to a problem that has outlasted multiple village administrations. With Phase 2 still contingent on federal hazard mitigation funding, officials are treating this week's ribbon-cutting as a milestone rather than a finish line for South Holland's fight against chronic flooding.
