 June 20, 2024
Groundbreaking Ceremony Kicks Off Modifications to 100-Year-Old Dam
The Lake County Stormwater Management Commission (SMC), Fremont Township Highway Department and Lake County Board gathered on June 18 to celebrate the start of construction on the 100-year-old Sylvan Lake Dam in unincorporated Mundelein.
The Sylvan Lake Dam, which was built in 1924, has exceeded its useful life. The aging dam currently does not provide the necessary level of protection from a sudden release of water, which could damage local properties and roads and significantly impact the environment.
As part of the project, the Sylvan Lake Dam will be reconstructed to protect nearly 300 nearby homes and Sylvan Lake. Work includes relocating the above-ground sanitary sewer pipe, increasing the dam’s flood storage and installing a sidewalk.
Rainfall, storms and the natural environment significantly impacted the Sylvan Lake Dam over the past century. The dam had an exposed sewage pipe that was at risk of being damaged by high-velocity drainage and overflow from the dam’s spillway when water is released downstream.
"A dam failure would be harmful to the health and safety of many families in addition to causing unnecessary disruption to some of our local roadways. I am so grateful that Lake County SMC, the Fremont Township Highway Department, and all our other partners were able to move this important project forward," said Jessica Vealitzek, Lake County Board Member District 10.
The Sylvan Lake Dam project received Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Pre-Disaster Mitigation grant funding through the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) as part of the 2022 Congressionally Directed Spending championed by Representative Lauren Underwood’s office. Funding for this project comes from Fremont Township Highway Department, FEMA and the Sylvan Lake Improvement Association.
 Pictured above includes the event speakers, Lake County Board Member Jessica Vealitzek, Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, Fremont Township Highway Commissioner Alicia Dodd, and SMC Executive Director Kurt Woolford, along with Project Manager Sharon Osterby, the Fremont Township team, and our partners at the Illinois Emergency Management Agency.
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