DuPage County Stormwater Management News & Updates

DuPage County, Illinois sent this bulletin at 03/09/2018 10:13 AM CST

March 2018                                                                                                                             View this email in your browser
DuPage County Currents

Stormwater Management Releases 2017 Annual Report

March 2
In 2017, SWM held a large public tour of its Elmhurst Quarry Flood Control Facility.

DuPage County Stormwater Management (SWM) released its 2017 Annual Report in early March. The report details a number of important initiatives SWM accomplished in 2017, ranging from projects protecting homes and businesses from flooding to water quality studies helping to preserve natural resources to floodplain map updates ensuring property owners are informed of their flood risk. Notably, in 2017, SWM worked on six flood control and water quality projects, passed four water quality watershed-based plans and held a sold-out public tour of the Elmhurst Quarry Flood Control Facility. 

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DuPage County to Host Design Challenge

March 3
SWM Committee Chairman Jim Zay learns about a sustainable project.

SWM and SCARCE are hosting the 12th annual Sustainable Design Challenge on Tuesday, April 17. The Challenge encourages students to construct building and landscape models using environmental and water-friendly design practices. Designs will be open to the public on the 3rd floor of the County's JTK Administration Building (421 N. County Farm Rd., Wheaton) from 9 to 11am.

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SWM Names Grant Recipients

The DuPage County Stormwater Management Planning Committee voted on the 2018 recipients of the County’s Water Quality Improvement Program grant in early March. Of the 15 applications received, the Committee awarded a total of nearly $335,000 to five projects countywide, all of which aim to improve the quality of the DuPage's streams and rivers. 

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Around Town

In ongoing sustainability efforts, DuPage Unitarian Universalist Church (Naperville) adopted a portion of the West Branch DuPage River through McDowell Grove Forest Preserve. They recently completed the steps necessary in the County's Adopt-a-Stream program to receive a sign recognizing their efforts. However, their environmental actions don't stop there. The church also has native and prairie plants, green building fixtures, composting bins and plans to install solar panels.

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March 5
Prairie plants surround the church.

Flood Control Facility Corner

Get to Know SWM's Gary-Kehoe Reservoir

March 5

The Gary-Kehoe Reservoir, named for the nearby intersection in Carol Stream, is a flood control reservoir and dam system that utilizes gravity to detain nearly 46 million gallons of floodwater from a nearby tributary to Klein Creek.

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Upcoming Events

Stream & BMP Monitoring Webcast

Wednesday, March 21, 2018, Noon - 1:30 P.M. 

SWM and the DuPage River Salt Creek Workgroup are hosting a Center for Watershed Protection webcast focusing on best management practice (BMP) monitoring. It will describe how some communities have responded to the increased need to document BMP performance and present case studies of monitoring design and results. The free webcast will be held at the Jeanine Nicarico Center (115 N. County Farm Rd., Wheaton).

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Water Conservation Workshop & McDonald Farm Tour

Sunday, March 25, 2018, 1:00 P.M. - 3:00 P.M. 

Let's not leave our water supply to chance - rainwater is a precious resource! Come learn how to collect and keep it on your property with rain barrels and rain gardens at a free Water Conservation Workshop in the Clow Education Center at The Conservation Foundation's McDonald Farm (10S404 Knoch Knolls Rd., Naperville). The event will also include a tour of the Farm. Pre-registration is appreciated. 

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2018 Sustainable Design Challenge

Tuesday, April 17, 2018, 9:00 A.M. - 11:00 A.M. 

DuPage County and SCARCE are celebrating the 12th annual Sustainable Design Challenge, which promotes environmental and stormwater education in local high schools. Students from DuPage County high schools will display their innovative and resilient building and landscape designs to the public on the third floor of DuPage County's Administration Building (421 N. County Farm Rd., Wheaton, IL).

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Earth Day Fair

Sunday, April 22, 2018, Noon - 4:00 P.M. 

The Naperville Park District is hosting a family-friendly Earth Day Fair during "Earth Week Naperville," which will feature green activities, vendors and giveaways. Stop by SWM and Cool DuPage's booth for information on water quality, recycling and other sustainability initiatives. This free event will be held at the Fort Hill Activity Center (20 Fort Hill Dr., Naperville).

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College of DuPage STEM-CON

Saturday, April 28, 2018, 9:00 A.M. - 4:00 P.M. 

College of DuPage's STEM-CON is a free event to educate students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. This family-friendly event encourages scientific discovery through hands-on activities, while also providing the opportunity to learn about careers from actual industry representatives, including SWM staff. It will be held at COD's Physical Education Center (425 Fawell Blvd., Glen Ellyn).

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