Homewood-Flossmoor Area LWV Hosts Meeting on Stormwater

The League of Women Voters of the Homewood-Flossmoor Area recently hosted a program on "Stormwater: From the Ground UP" presented by Ms. Krista Grimm, a member of the LWVLaGrange and the Lake Michigan Region LWV.  Flood waters present a problem for many communities and Ms. Grimm explained how this occurs and what can be done about it.  

When rain falls, 40% evaporates, 10% runs off, 25% results in shallow infiltration, and 25% seeps deep into the ground.  Wetlands are good because they store and filter water, but Illinois has just 10% of its original wetlands.  Sewers are the method of water capture in settled areas, with several different methods used. One of these is by gray infrastructure which is expensive to build and maintain. Of built environment, 30% of water evaporates, 55% runs off, and just 15% goes into the ground.

In some communities, the storm and sanitary sewers are combined.  Ten times since 2007, combined water -- which is very polluting -- has been sent into Lake Michigan.  Stored storm water in reservoirs must be treated by before being released to natural waterways -- a very expensive process.

Ms. Grimm offered several suggestions for people who wish to use rain water:  1)  Use rain barrels or cisterns to catch the water and then use it to water plants and flowers in the garden; 2) Plant trees, which use 15% of rainfall; 3) Plant native ground plants with deep roots; 4) Incorporate "rain gardens" (dig depressions in the yard and then grow native plants there); 5) Create bioswales.  

Locally, Olympia Fields is planting natural native plants at their retention pond; Flossmoor is promoting bioswales; and Homewood may be installing underground cisterns in parks and parking lots.  In the past many people have purchased rain barrels through an Irons Oaks program. 

Members of the audience were cautioned when using asphalts sealants, to avoid using those with coal ash which is very toxic.

The Thornton Quarry is going to be used for storm water storage beginning in 2017.  This should be helpful to ease the flooding problems that many people now experience during heavy rainfall.

For more information about the Homewood-Flossmoor Area League of Women Voters, please see our website: http://hfarea.il.lwvnet.org/index.html.  Membership is open to anyone 18 years or older.  Those wishing to attend our Annual Meeting on May 17 -- a breakfast at Flossmoor Country Club --  must register by sending payment by May 5.  See our April-May Bulletin on our website for more information, including a reservation form.