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A main concern in urban development is where water will go when
building changes water absorption and flow. Water control is an
essential part of the plan as previously open ground that absorbed
rainwater is covered by roofs, drives, streets and large expanses of
parking pavement, as well as often interrupting natural causeways.
The flow study addresses residential flooding problems in
Stonebridge subdivision, factors into the redevelopment of Fifth
Street Road, and views both current and future residential and
commercial developments for the area. It encompasses the area
between Fifth Street and Route 10-Woodlawn Road from Lincoln Parkway
west, along with adjacent areas that are affected to the north and
south.
Chris Bott of Greene and Bradford and Jack Guillous, a private
consultant of Springfield, explained that they were presenting a
concept to the committee and would be asking if they should proceed
in this direction. Their recommendation is to create a regional
detention pond, on flood plain property, that would serve the entire
area.
A regional detention pond has several advantages:
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It would serve as
flood control for the entire area and encompasses future
development. The design would be a two-tier pond that allows
excess water to overflow into Kickapoo Creek.
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It takes flood
plain property that cannot be built on and frees up usable land.
There are already a number of detention ponds -- for Kroger,
Sysco, the new Wal-Mart and FedEx -- that could be eliminated
and the land reclaimed for development.
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The pond would
have an undulating shape, making it suitable as a recreation
area. The land around the pond would be usable as a park. Soccer
and ball fields could be developed.
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 A planner would need to be involved to do this.
Flood plain land not suitable for development would make a good
detention area.
The proposed location is just east of Allison Lake, adjacent to
it. Part of the property is the flood plain area of the county farm.
It would involve several other acres that are privately owned. The
engineers suggested that the property owners would probably be
amenable to trading with the city for developable land.
The biggest drawback was that, if developed for recreation, it
would not be accessible during the occasional times that Kickapoo
Creek is out of its banks. And maybe to fishermen, the only fish in
the pond would be what is in the creek.
The committee agreed that this is a plan they would like to
pursue. The consultants will move to the next phase, which is to
gather actual water flow measurements. They will gather these from
the city engineer, county highway engineers and Illinois Department
of Transportation.
The next step after measurements would be to begin looking at
costs.
[Jan
Youngquist]
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