SMC Celebrates the Fox River
Staff member Anna represented the Lake County Stormwater Management Commission (SMC) at the Village of Port Barringtonās Itās Our Fox River Day (IOFRD) celebration on September 19 with an informative booth.
Rainy weather didnāt stop Anna from sharing SMCās mission and providing information to attendees about the importance of protecting our waterways. This included education about rain gardens, flood insurance, and flood mitigation activities.
The floodplain model, provided by the Illinois Association of Floodplain and Stormwater Management (IAFSM), attracted a lot of attention from kids and adult attendees. This important tool helps explain how floods occur and shares how the public can protect themselves from flood events by demonstrating how stormwater moves through porous and non-porous surfaces and how wetlands positively improve drainage.
SMC partners with the IAFSM to make the model available for IAFSM members to check out for educational events. Contact Sharon Osterby for more information.
IOFRD is celebrated annually on the third Saturday in September in communities up and down the Fox River to celebrate, protect and restore the health of the Fox River. The Fox River watershed covers over 2,500 square miles and serves over 1 million residents in Illinois and Wisconsin. Thank you to everyone who stopped by our booth to say hello and learn more about the Lake County Stormwater Management Commission!
 Visitors with the Floodplain Model at SMC's Booth. Photo courtesy of Mike Warner
Successful Training Hosted by SMC
In September, SMC staff partnered with the University of Illinois Extension's Master Naturalist Lake County Training Program to provide hands-on learning opportunities for the 2026 class of new Master Naturalists.
Staff provided an overview of SMC's work, highlighting the various funding programs available through SMC, examples of funded projects throughout Lake County, and our ongoing role in public education and outreach efforts.
During the training program, staff shared the importance of green infrastructure and led an on-site best management practice tour of the Central Permit Facility's green roof, bioswale, rain gardens, native plant swales, and wetland detention basins.
SMC staff were happy to bring a local perspective to green infrastructure maintenance for part of the Master Naturalist training coursework and valued the opportunity to partner with the University of Illinois Extension Master Naturalist Lake County Training Program.
Join An SMC Ribbon Cutting
The Lake County Stormwater Management Commission and Skokie Consolidated Drainage District are hosting the Skokie River Channel Improvements Project Ribbon Cutting Celebration on Friday, October 16 at 10 a.m. at Danny Cunniff Park in Highland Park, IL.
This infrastructure improvement project stabilized the highly degraded banks along the Skokie River, which negatively impacted water quality and aquatic habitats, and caused property damage. The project includes grading and streambank stabilization with stone and wire baskets, along with the planting of native vegetation to restore flow and lower the risk of flooding for the local properties.
Partial funding for this project is provided by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO).
We hope to see you there!
Become a Chloride Watcher!
Lake County and The Conservation Foundation are hosting a free Winter Chloride Watchers Training on Tuesday, October 20 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Lake County Division of Transportation building, 600 W. Winchester Road, Libertyville, IL.
Winter Chloride Watchers is a unique program that helps protect the water in our streams by collecting water samples and gathering important data to help inform future water protection efforts. This training will prepare you for the basics of monitoring a sampling site every month from November through May at a local waterway of your choosing. If you donāt have a sampling site in mind, a list of available local sites will be shared at the meeting.
The work will include completing the initial site registration form for your sampling site, then collecting and reporting your monthly sample results using the Water Rangers app or website. With this data, The Conservation Foundation and Lake County will gain a clearer picture of how chlorides affect aquatic life in the region and how Salt Smart winter practices can reduce the number of chlorides that reach waterways.
 Deadline Coming Up! Submit Your Stormwater Awards Nominations
The nomination period is now open for Lake County Stormwater Management Commission's 2026 Stormwater Awards.
The Stormwater Awards recognize outstanding efforts by organizations, communities, groups, and individuals for projects and other proactive and innovative efforts to improve water quality, reduce flood damage, help restore natural drainage systems, and protect natural resources.
Nominations will be accepted through Tuesday, October 20.
Awards will be given in the categories of:
- Community of the Year
- Best Management Practice and Development of the Year
- Education, Outreach and Media of the Year
- Stewardship of the Year
- Stormwater Manager of the Year
Now Accepting Fox River Watershed Request for ProposalsĀ
The Lake County Stormwater Management Commission (SMC) is issuing a Request for Proposals (RFP) for wetland mitigation projects within the Fox River Watershed in Lake County, IL, using funds collected in the SMC Wetland Restoration Fund (WRF). The mitigation acreage goal is 1.11 acres, at a minimum, and approximately $120,379 of WRF funds are available.Ā
Eligibility is open to any landowner (public or private) whose owned property lies within the Fox River watershed in Lake County, IL. The deadline for the submission of proposals is Monday, November 2 at 12 p.m. (CDT). The complete RFP is available on our website.Ā
|
