The Chateau Eau Plaines neighborhood is located on the western side of Pleasant Prairie south of Highway 50 and west of 104th Avenue. The neighborhood was platted and improvements were installed in 1977. This was prior to the time that our community had taken control of its own planning and development process, a process that currently has strict guidelines for managing storm water runoff in new developments. In the past, portions of the Chateau Eau Plaines neighborhood have experienced flooding during periods of heavy rain.
In 2011, the Village contracted with an engineering firm to complete a drainage study and propose possible solutions for flooding that has affected properties in the area. The study area includes both residential homes and still vacant land owned by private parties. The drainage study evaluated the existing drainage patterns in the neighborhood, identified potential causes of the flooding, and proposed preliminary solutions.
Once preliminary solutions were proposed, the Village hosted a public meeting to share potential engineered solutions and gather feedback from the affected residents. Village staff also began the process of seeking out grant funding to pay for the cost of constructing the improvements.
In February, staff mailed a letter to area residents explaining that no grant money was currently available from the State or Federal Governments to fund potential storm water improvements. The letter also explained that a preliminary design for improvements had been initiated in order to study the feasibility of proposed solutions and to estimate their costs.
PROJECT UPDATE
The need to address flooding issues in the Chateau Eau Plaines area remains a very real need. Rain this past spring generated high levels of storm water in ditches and culverts throughout the area. A consultant hired by the Village has modeled the storm water flows, and Village staff is currently reviewing the recent alternatives that have been presented. In the meantime, Village staff has been continuing to monitor the availability of grant funding to help offset the cost of the project.
At present, funding sources could potentially and partially include: the Clean Water Utility budget, capital improvement budgets, and local assessments. This means that homeowners in the Chateau Eau Plaines area could pay a portion of the cost for building the stormwater solution through a property assessment should the Village and homeowners agree to move forward with the project in the absence of grant funding.
Property assessments that address flooding issues are typically based on the surface or drainage area that contributes stormwater runoff to ditches and culverts in the drainage area. This engineering measurement is generally used as a starting point for an assessment.
Regardless of the type of funding used for the project, a design needs to be completed in order to either prepare for a new grant application or to proceed with the flooding solution with self-funding by the Village and homeowners. Because Village staff is still reviewing the alternative solutions, a final solution and method of assessment have not yet been determined (no final costs have been determined).
The project schedule calls for another public meeting to discuss potential alternatives. A tentative date for the meeting has been set for September 26. A notice for the public meeting will be mailed to all affected homeowners prior to the meeting. All homeowners in the project area are encouraged to attend so that you can review the actual work that has been completed, form your own opinions, and share your opinions with the Village President, Trustees and staff. The Village thanks Chateau homeowners for their patience as the staff and engineers work through the process of designing a storm water solution for the Chateau area.