“New stormwater storage tanks almost complete in effort to reduce West Side flooding,” ABC7 Chicago Eyewitness News

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Construction is underway on a new underground stormwater storage facility in Chicago's Austin neighborhood.

It's part of a broader effort to increase stormwater storage capacity on the city's West Side. While the project will not be completed until the fall, officials say its long-term significance is critical.

At the intersection of Le Moyne Street and Linder Avenue, massive 12-by-12 concrete blocks sat in the middle of the street Tuesday, awaiting assembly into what will become a large underground storage unit designed to hold excess stormwater.

City officials said the project creates two auxiliary tanks that will increase stormwater storage by 1.7 million gallons.

The projects are just part of what the city says will be a more than $500 million project to address flooding, while also upgrading the city's aging sewer system.

"What this will do is this will be a collection of that flow before it ends up in people's basements. So this will flood first," said Brendan Schreiber, deputy commissioner with the Department of Water Management.

The project comes as West Side residents continue to deal with the impacts of frequent and severe flooding. Three years ago, 8 inches of rain fell in just 12 hours. More recently, storms over the weekend dumped what officials described as a month's worth of rain in two days.

"Every time it rains water builds up in the back of our basement and the front. And when we got the house they said it was a no flood zone," said Wedell Hill, who lives in Austin.

The underground storage container is the second of two being installed on the West Side. Engineers say the area tends to flood more than others because stormwater must travel a longer distance to reach intercepting sewers.

"Just like backups occur leaving a parking lot or backups occur on the interstate, a backup in the sewer system occurs. And that's what this is meant to do," Schreiber said.

Mayor Brandon Johnson said the approach is necessary to address a decades-old system that cannot be easily upgraded because of its design.

"It's localized, but it's also systemwide. And that is something that is going to be taking place over the next several years," Johnson said.

Officials also noted that the Tunnel and Reservoir Plan, once considered the solution to widespread flooding, is no longer sufficient to handle storms that were once considered rare. The Deep Tunnel system is nearing capacity for the first time in its history. The Thornton Reservoir near south suburban South Holland, which has never exceeded 55% capacity before, was reported at 93%.

As the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District works to relieve pressure on area reservoirs, officials continue to ask residents to conserve water to help bring the Deep Tunnel system to a safer level before the next major rain event.

Chicago also wants residents affected by flooding on July 3 and 4 to report any service requests related to water in basements to 311.

Residents should also complete an online survey through July 14.

https://abc7chicago.com/post/new-stormwater-storage-tanks-almost-complete-le-moyne-street-austin-chicago-effort-reduce-west-side-flooding/19464915/