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Lake County Stormwater Management Commission Newsletter

June 2025

Learn About SMC DCEO Infrastructure
Improvement Projects

In 2022, the Lake County Stormwater Management Commission (SMC) was awarded a $122 million appropriation from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) for stormwater capital improvement projects to reduce flooding in hard-hit communities countywide. So far, the County has received $60 million to complete the projects.

From spring 2022 to fall 2024, 13 projects were finished using the initial $30 million received from the DCEO. Together, they have a combined impact of limiting flooding to over 2,300 properties and 25 roads in Lake County. The second $30 million was received last year to fund 16 projects scheduled to be completed by fall 2026. Six of these projects have already started construction. An additional six projects will begin construction this year. Four projects have begun final engineering and are expected to be completed next year. It’s estimated these 16 projects will benefit over 2,000 properties and 100 roads by limiting flooding.

Half of the planned DCEO projects are now funded. SMC has plans for up to 32 more projects with the remaining $62 million appropriation, if funding becomes available. These projects would assist areas that are facing critical infrastructure challenges. Until then, SMC continues to make progress on the remaining unfunded projects. The 15 proposed round-three DCEO projects have been authorized by the Lake County Stormwater Management Commission, in anticipation of future funding releases.

The 2025 Stormwater Grants in Action book is now available to learn in-depth project details about the 30 funded and the potential 32 remaining projects that might be coming to your area.

To learn more about a few round-two DCEO projects, watch this video. SMC will continue to work toward completion of the round two projects and looks forward to being able to start round three!

Bangs Lake DCEO Project Groundbreaking

Last week, SMC hosted its first ceremony celebrating a DCEO round-two project. The Bangs Lake Outfall Improvement Project in Wauconda includes 6,450 feet of storm sewer and channels leading from Bangs Lake to IL Route 176. This project provides infrastructure improvements to create proper drainage and manage high water levels for Bangs Lake. Work will include almost 4,000 feet of stream improvements, along with a new lake outfall structure and related infrastructure, retaining wall, storm sewer and box culverts.

The project will also improve water quality with the planting of native vegetation. Once complete, these improvements will help alleviate flooding to more than 70 properties and eight roads in Wauconda. Learn more about this project.

Learn about Stormwater Infrastructure Falling Behind at Upcoming Webinar

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) recently released their 2025 Infrastructure Report Card. It is a comprehensive assessment to evaluate how the country’s roads, public buildings, mass transit, airports, water systems and more are being maintained to meet economic demand and protect public health and safety. America’s infrastructure got an overall grade of C. Stormwater’s grade remained stagnant at a D.

Lake County Stormwater Management Commission Executive Director Kurt Woolford will be a panelist at the upcoming ASCE Infrastructure Report Card for Stormwater webinar on Tuesday, June 17 at 1 p.m. Join to learn more about stromwater’s grade.

Co-hosted by the National Municipal Stormwater Alliance and ASCE, 1.5 Professional Development Hours will be awarded to those who attend.

Register here

Up, Up and Away

Did you know SMC has a drone program? Launched in 2017, it boosts efficiency and extends the teams' capacities to view hard to reach areas from above. Drones can help survey flooding, assess damage and create 2-D and 3-D images of the area.

Michelle Pope is SMC’s Geospatial Analyst and Drone Pilot. She is a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Certified Drone Pilot who goes out to fly about two to three times a week, weather depending, to get footage of SMC’s projects. Currently she is working to get before, during and after footage for the DCEO round-two projects.

The prep work to complete the task starts well before driving to the location and sending the drone off into the sky. To prep for a drone flight, she must first check the weather, request permission to fly over and get footage, check and possibly get permission from airport airspace, and make sure she doesn’t fly over any area not part of the project. In addition to the drone pilot, a spotter is always needed to maintain a visual on the drone while the operator views the information being captured.

Michelle noted a memorable flight last year in the Knollwood subdivision in Fox Lake. Because of the tree cover in the neighborhood, there was limited visuals, so she and her fellow drone spotter had to get into a fire truck ladder bucket and be lifted into the air to see the drone at all times during the flight (pictured upper right). She also gets to interact and inform the public about her drone on occasion, as she recently did with a few kids visiting Sequoit Creek Park in Antioch when she was out getting footage (pictured lower left).

Check Out Our Drone Footage Webpage!

If you're interested in seeing images and video from some of Michelle's drone flights, visit our website's Current Projects page. More footage will be added as Michelle expands her drone flight coverage. Check back regularly!

Thank you for Attending the First
Lake-McHenry MS4 Workshop

Lake County Stormwater Management Commission (SMC) and McHenry County Planning and Development partnered to launch the Lake-McHenry MS4 Pollution Prevention Workshop on May 21 at the Central Permit Facility and online. We had over 180 participants attend the inaugural event!

Presenters included professionals from the Illinois EPA and Baxter & Woodman, along with staff from McHenry County Planning and Development, and Lake County Division of Transportation and Health Department.

Some of the topics covered were an overview of the Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) program, the MS4 audit process and information on the upcoming release of the MS4 permit, good housekeeping practices for municipalities, and case studies of pollution prevention practices in Lake and McHenry Counties. The presentation slides are available on our website. Please contact Anna Niedzinski at SMC with any questions or to provide comments about the workshop.

Thank you to all the participants and presenters who made this a successful event!

Take Lake County's Tree Survey

Lake County is creating a long-term, countywide Urban and Community Forestry Strategic Plan to set a vision and strategy for preserving and growing this county's urban forest. We'd love your feedback to help us create the plan. Take our short survey to share your thoughts on tree care, funding and how Lake County can better support our community. Your responses will help guide future decisions, programs and planting efforts!

The survey ends June 13. 

Take the English survey

Take the Spanish survey

Meet Our New Intern, Samantha!

Welcome Samantha Ceisel, SMC’s newest intern! Samantha joins us as a recent graduate of UW-Madison where she majored in Environmental Science and Environmental Studies, with minors in Engineering for Energy Sustainability and Developmental Economics. In her role as Program Management Intern, she’ll support the Floodplain Buyout Program, which works to reduce flood hazards by acquiring and removing flood-prone properties to restore the areas as community spaces or natural habitats.

She will provide program support by helping coordinate with homeowners and stakeholders, track costs and bids, while ensuring necessary compliance, and will eventually help support demolition of these properties. She’s learning about SMC operations and how state and federal programs work together to support flood mitigation.

Samantha grew up in the area and is excited to get to work on projects that affect the community where she grew up . In her free time, she enjoys outdoor activities like hiking, kayaking, camping and beekeeping. She also enjoys painting, playing music and traveling. Some of the far-flung destinations she’s visited are Ecuador, Spain, Morocco, Greece and Indonesia.

Grant Opportunities

The Chi–Cal Rivers Fund is now accepting proposals for grant funding with a focus on the major waterways of the Chicago and Calumet region to reduce stormwater runoff with nature-based infrastructure. Full Details

Section 319

The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency is now accepting Nonpoint Source Grant applications for local units of government and other organizations to protect water quality in Illinois. Full Details 

Save the Date

SMC'S Watershed Management Board (WMB) Fiscal Year 2026 Request for Proposal will be released on June 27. Learn more about the WMB.

A Note from Executive Director, Kurt Woolford

A big thank you to anyone who was able to volunteer their time on Chicago River Day in May at one of the clean-up sites along the Chicago River in Cook and Lake counties! Part of the SMC team was able to help at a clean-up site and together we and the many Chicago River Day volunteers made a big impact along the river.