Condo Residents: State Wetlands Project Has Caused Flooding
(CBS) -- Restoring wetlands sounded like a nice plan.
But some residents of a far north suburb say it actually cleared the way for flood water.
As CBS 2's Roseanne Tellez reports.
These aren't the wetlands the North Chicago residents imagined: cars under water, condominiums flooded and a major mess to clean up after storms May 13.
Some residents blame the restoration of wetlands near the Strawberry Condo complex, a project carried out by IDOT and the tollway. The residents say trees were chopped, clearing the way for rushing water.
An engineer from the Lake County Stormwater Management Commission says he's looking for solutions.
"The storm sewers and these culvert pipes got overwhelmed and clogged up, and the water had nowhere else to go," Kurt Woolford says.
But many residents say they were clogged because of excessive run-off from the wetlands and all the debris that comes with it.
As their clean-up continues, some don't want to point fingers.
"We would like the whole problem resolved solved so it never has a chance to happen again," Helen Howard says.
The engineer says he's reaching out to the tollway and IDOT and recommending that a berm be built here. It would essentially be a little hill that would hold the water back.
