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Lake County Stormwater Management Commission Newsletter

September 2025

SMC: Live On The Air

Kurt Woolford, Lake County Stormwater Management Commission (SMC) Executive Director, recently had the opportunity to visit 98.3 The Life, a Lake County community radio station based in Round Lake Beach, to be a guest on The Cert Presents Show, along with Rebekah Snyder, Director of Community Engagement and Partnerships, from the Lake County Forest Preserves.

The in-depth conversation covered numerous topics, including explaining SMC’s work and mission, discussing natural land and water management options in our county such as possibly expanding forest preserves and wetlands, project partnerships with the Forest Preserve and SMC, potential wetland restorations of farmlands, stormwater capital improvement projects in Lake County and more.

One partnership effort discussed was a wetland restoration project that created 26 acres of wetlands within Grainger Woods Forest Preserve by removing a drain tile, a form of agricultural drainage that removes excess water from fields, so the area could naturally refill with water. 

Also discussed during the radio show was the Mill Creek Restoration Project. The site is being cleared and aquatic plants will be installed to remove excessive silt and sediment to improve the water quality for downstream waterways. This restored wetland is also being used as a wetland plant nursery to grow needed wetland plants in collaboration with the Rollins Savanna seed nursery. Learn more about this project.

The entire conversation is available to watch now. You also can learn more about the Lake County Forest Preserves and the Stormwater Management Commission.

Interested in Running a River Clean-Up?

Something exciting has arrived at SMC! We’re now the first Lake County location of a Litter Free Supply Station. The supply stations contain all the tools, supplies and information needed to run a stream or shoreline clean-up, including litter grabbers, buckets, bags and gloves.

You can eliminate some litter in your community by checking out a supply station and planning your own own independent river clean-up in Lake County!

The supply kits are made available through a partnership with the Friends of the Chicago River.

Check out a Litter Free Supply Station

Watershed Management Board RFP Deadline Coming Soon

There's still time to submit request for proposals (RFPs) for the annual Watershed Management Board (WMB) funded projects for Fiscal Year 2026 until Tuesday, September 30 at 2 p.m.

This opportunity is available to all local watershed groups, landowners, homeowner associations, municipalities, townships, county governments, land conservancies and trusts, park districts, and other land managing agencies. All project proposals must be submitted electronically through SMC's INFLOW portal.

SMC staff will review all proposal submissions based on the project prioritization criteria and will make recommendations to the WMB for their approval of projects at the December 10 WMB meeting. Project proposals recommended for funding by the WMB will be forwarded to the January 2026 SMC meeting for final approval and funding appropriations.

For more information, visit SMC's website.

Register Now for Upcoming
Educational Opportunities

IWEER Wetland Delineation Course

The Institute for Wetland & Environmental Education & Research (IWEER), in collaboration with the Lake County Stormwater Management Commission (SMC), is excited to announce the return of the highly regarded Basic Wetland Delineation Class from September 16 to 19 at the Central Permit Facility in Libertyville.

For more information about the IWEER Wetland Delineation Class and to register, contact Barbara at barbara@wetlanded.com or call (413) 441-3708.

Plants of the Wetland Boundary Class

An extra class for those registered for the IWEER Delineation Class will also be offered on September 15. Hosted by SMC’s Juli Crane, Plants of the Wetland Boundary will be a learning opportunity for those who lack plant identification experience. It is a field-oriented day, with reference material, to familiarize you with plants common to wetland borders in the Chicago area. More information   New Illinois MS4 Permit Workshop Lake County Stormwater Management Commission (SMC) is partnering with the Illinois Water Environment Association (IWEA) to host an in-person workshop covering the new and revised requirements of the Illinois EPA MS4 Permit on Friday, October 10 from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Lake County Central Permit Facility. Dan Bounds, PE of Baxter & Woodman, will share an overview of the new requirements for public education, facility inventory and stormwater inspections, construction site inspections, staff training, annual reporting and more. SMC will share resources available through their Qualifying Local Program (QLP). This will be a great opportunity for MS4 communities to be able to come together and share strategies in obtaining permit compliance for the next five years. More details and registration information will be available soon.   Winter Best Practices Workshops Registration is now open for this year’s Winter Best Practice Workshops! A mix of in-person and virtual events for Public Roads and Parking Lots & Sidewalks workshops will be offered from September to November. SMC will be hosting an in-person Public Roads Winter Best Practice Workshop with a calibration demonstration on September 30 from 7:30 a.m. – noon. Register for this workshop or others at: saltsmart.org/workshops Discount registration costs are available to watershed workgroup members. Email Ashley Strelcheck for more information. Attendance at these workshops counts towards meeting MS4 permit requirements. Breakfast will be provided for attendees at all in-person workshops. Lake County Calibration Workshop Lake, DuPage and Cook Counties will be hosting FREE in-person calibration events in November. This is an opportunity for agencies to bring their winter maintenance vehicles to be calibrated with Force America. One-hour timeslots will be available. Click on the event below to register! November 4, 2025: Lake County Calibration Event Location: Lake County Division of Transportation (LCDOT), 600 W Winchester Road, Libertyville, IL, near the LCDOT salt dome November 5, 2025: Cook County Calibration Event Location: Cook County Department of Transportation & Highways (DOTH), 8900 West 135th Street, Orland Park, IL November 6, 2025: DuPage County Calibration Event Location: DuPage Division of Transportation (DOT), 140 N. County Farm Road, Wheaton, IL

Coming Soon: WRF Wetland Mitigation Opportunities in Lake County

SMC administers and implements the Wetland Restoration Fund (WRF) to support multiple wetland restoration projects in Lake County. The WRF provides wetland mitigation opportunities in watersheds where mitigation bank credits (i.e., acres) are unavailable, specifically for Isolated Waters of Lake County (IWLC) impacts exceeding the mitigation threshold.

In the coming months, SMC will issue Requests for Proposals (RFP) for wetland mitigation projects in the following Lake County watersheds:

• Lake Michigan – RFP Issuance: September – October 2025
  • Mitigation needs: 5.49 acre (minimum 3.40 acre creation/restoration)
  • Available funds: approx. $785,000
• Fox River – Anticipated RFP Issuance: October - November 2025
  • Mitigation needs: 1.86 acre (minimum 1.37 acre creation/restoration)
  • Available funds: approx. $201,000
• Des Plaines River – Anticipated RFP Issuance: November 2025 – January 2026
  • Mitigation needs: 6.57 acre (minimum 4.37 acre creation/restoration)
  • Available funds: approx. $716,000

Note: Mitigation needs and available funds may vary depending on future development impacts ahead of RFP issuance.

Any public or private landowner with property in Lake County, Illinois, and within the specified watershed may apply. See the watershed boundaries. Eligible applicants include individual or multiple landowners; not-for-profit organizations; federal, state, or local agencies; or local units of government (including park districts and forest preserve districts).

To learn more about the program, see the WRF Implementation Guidance Document. For questions about the WRF program or the upcoming RFPs, contact Bill Santelik.

Grant Opportunity

The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency is now accepting applications for the Green Infrastructure Grant Opportunity (GIGO) until November 5. This program funds projects that construct green infrastructure best management practices (BMPs) that prevent, eliminate, or reduce stormwater runoff into Illinois’ rivers, streams, and lakes.

Learn more about green infrastructure grant