Just drove around northern GE, there are many streets that have high standing water-

• Main, north of 5 Corners
  
• St. Charles, near Ackerman
  
• North Ave. near Menards and again just east of Main
  

Checking the radar, there is more rain coming, so flooding will get worse in the coming hours.

You think that's bad, check out the work zones around Bryant.

To say I'm angry is putting it mildly. I see no village trucks out and about, no police cars blocking the intersections.

Wow... first time I've had a wet basement. Can't imagine what the "regular flooders" are dealing with, ugh.

Is this our second or third 100 yr storm on the past few years?

PTSD is kicking in big time.

Anyone know why police are blocking Western Ave at Oak Street?

rain's almost done. Beautiful weekend ahead.

Just walked down there. Western Ave is flooded just south of Oak Street. Not sure how far south the blockage is affecting.

Woke up at 5:00 AM; brand new retaining wall - just over a year old, built after last cataclysmic rain storm which flooded our house, and state-of-the-art model complete with drain tiles - collapsed with a thunderous crash. Water gushing in the windows of our lower level - the level that flooded last time, and which had brand new carpet & furniture. Only this time, since our sump pump isn't at fault, the insurance won't cover a dime.

Currently trying to pump water out, dry carpet out, and contemplating building an ark. We sent son out to find carpet vac, and he reported manhole covers popping up all over the place, particularly at the end of Spring Ave. by 53. He hit one, and now our car's out of alignment.

Good morning, Glen Ellyn!

Oh scribbler, how awful. Do you have a portable pump-submergible? How is this not covered under homeowners? Maybe with the sunshine - it will dry out and be okay (If the water was somewhat clean) Do you know if they make water proof basement windows?

Floor drains backed up on Parkside. 2 inches of water and the sump pump is running nonstop while the floor drains are not working.

Luckily, ComEd flipped a coin this storm and decided to leave GE power on.

We used the submergible pump right away, to help with the overflow. Proud Hubby heard the wall as it collapsed, so we were on the job immediately but that didn't stop all the carpet from getting soaked. The sump pump kept working but couldn't keep up with the water gushing in through the windows, streaming from uphill of us. (The water that the retaining wall with the drainage tiles is supposed to take care of.)

Last time it flooded - February of '09 - was the also the first time it flooded. In that case the sump pump died, and our insurance said that was the only reason it was covered. Had the water come in through "natural" causes - i.e., water coming in through the window like it just did - we wouldn't have been covered. So while we'll file the paperwork, we're assuming this is the case.

But now it's flooded 2 times in a year and a half. After about 13 years of never having a drop of water. The difference has to be the addition we put on 7 years ago, that juts out further into the yard - and so, into the natural stream of water coming from up Spring, down our way. And that stream has become a river in these recent "100-year" rains.

I think we're giving up on carpeting down there- we have a split, so it's not a true basement and fully a third of our living space, so we have to utilize it. My office, Proud Hubby's office, our family room and a full bath is down there. But I'm afraid it's no longer going to be the cozy, carpeted space it's been as long as we've lived here. Ceramic tile seems to be in our future, instead.

Garage floor seems a little bit wet.

Good thing there is no turf on Duchon. These every two year 100-year floods would have that stuff floating to Starbucks right about now.

Still file your claim, ya never know.

Yeah - also make sure you don't store paper/printer needs down there. tile tile tile...(with rugs/or wall to wall that can roll up). Outside, maybe do a trench, guide the water to your back yard or towards a storm sewer.

I keep forgetting to make sandbags. I have a little door to our basement that gets a trickle and I know if I sandbag the outer, it will probably stop this triple coming in until we somehow trench under the deck. Can I just get these bags at a hardware store or do I have to go to a landscape company?

Oh, Clam! Say it aint so. My condolences.

It seems bad everywhere - a friend just called to tell me his story of floods on the Eisenhower and how many stalled cars he counted.

Scribbler, how sad - have you had someone in to look at your yard to see if anything could be done to offset the addition's effect?

Well, we did add a ton of drainage tiles beneath the new landscaping. So, yeah - but we're going to have someone else out again. Our neighbors, though, have the same problem - again, only these last couple of years. So there's something else going on in this area other than our new addition. There are some new, larger homes uphill from us all, so maybe that's the problem. Who knows - all we do know is that this is becoming a seasonal disaster when, just a couple of years ago, none of us had ever had water in our homes.

Just talked to the insurance guy - there's a ray of hope there. Fingers crossed! When I went out to buy donuts for all the young, strapping college-aged boys who are now or will be pulling up our wet carpet & taking it out to the street, everyone at Dunkin Donuts had similar flood stories. Also, Roosevelt Rd. east of Nicoll was blocked off, by police. That was about an hour ago, though, so it might be clear by now.

Good luck to you. ....

Check out the news in Westchester, yikes

Evacuating residents

quote:

Originally posted by scribbler:
So there's something else going on in this area other than our new addition.

Yes I agree, I feel this area is being reclaimed by the marshlands/wetlands it probably was many many years ago...hmmm, I believe land does change. My backyard now has standing water - if only for about a 1/2 hour, but wasn't that way years back. Front yard today took on water, yet weeks back when we had this much rain - nothing... Nature? Is it us? I don't know.

quote:

Also, Roosevelt Rd. east of Nicoll was blocked off, by police. That was about an hour ago, though, so it might be clear by now.

But isn't that area, like, the highest area in DuPage County, then goes downhill, eastward?

I just saw Westchester too, and film of the Ike. But, geez, poor Westchester. It sounded like Elmhurst got hit pretty well as well - but bad all over. I've been very fortunate - a little leakage under the garage door, but my first floor condo is nice and dry, and the power hasn't flickered.

I know a lot of people don't like the length of time, and constraints, environmental surveys can have before construction, but maybe we, as a town, county, state, and beyond, really haven't done enough - and flooding, as in Scribbler's case, for example - could well be the effect of new construction, renovation, etc, maybe not even in her immediate area- but on a macro basis. I think we all keep forgetting that a something happens in one spot, can have unintended, but possibly bad, effects, on another.

Our association is thinking about a fairly major landscape renovation - one of the things we keep asking about is working/minimizing with wet areas (we've had some areas that weren't wet 20 years ago too) - but I'm not sure how we can go about making sure we've got the best survey in hand before giving the landscaping company the go-ahead.