Darien Residents Suffer Hardships In Recent Flooding: City

DARIEN, IL – When the big storms come, residents of older suburbs with seemingly ancient storm sewers find themselves deluged with water. La Grange comes to mind.

This time, Darien, founded in 1969, is among those hardest hit.

On the Fourth of July, a torrential storm brought 6 inches of rainfall, with 2.4 inches falling in one hour, the city stated on Monday.

A drone video posted that same day on YouTube shows flooding in Darien's Holly Park and Birchwood Park neighborhoods.

The storm caused many problems throughout the area. The Chicago area's average rainfall is 38 inches a year, according to the National Weather Service.

"The city recognizes the hardships some residents have faced following this rainfall," the statement read. "The city remains committed to supporting the community during this recovery."

Those whose homes were flooded by water from Darien-owned streets and stormwater ponds are urged to call the public works department at 630-353-8105. After hours, they should call 911.

If overland flooding impacted your home, the city said it would review the situation for potential causes.

City crews routinely inspect, maintain and repair stormwater infrastructure year-round to ensure systems are working properly, according to the statement.

During heavy rains, some older neighborhoods were designed to temporarily have water in the streets until the storm sewers move water out of the area, the city said.

Five years ago, Elmhurst officials told residents that water in the streets was not considered a problem if it went away in 10 or 30 minutes after a storm ended.

At the same time, the officials acknowledged that some residents disagreed.

In Darien's statement, the city said residents who suffered from overland flooding because of county roads should call the county at 630-407-6920. Such roads are Cass Avenue, 75th Street and Plainfield Road.

Finally, the city urged residents not to rely solely on social media information about the storm. They are asked to direct questions to City Administrator Bryon Vana at 630-353-8114 or by email.

Here's the city's information on sanitary sewer backups:

The sanitary sewer system in Darien is owned, operated and maintained by DuPage County. Those who experienced sanitary sewer backups are asked to call DuPage County at 630-964-7503. When a heavy rainfall causes the quantity of water to exceed the capacity of DuPage County’s sewer system, pressure builds up in the system and water can back up into unprotected basements. The additional water in a sanitary system during a rain event comes from defective pipe joints, cracks in sanitary sewer pipes, and illegal residential connections of sump pump discharge into the sanitary sewer.