Flooding map and other flooding in 2011

The flooding on 7/24/2010 was the last really large flood.  A few days after that on 8/3/2010, we got another big rain and we got some rain water seepage as well.  In 2011, we had a large rainfall on 5/29/2011 and we had some flooding down the block, but not as much as 2010.  And for some reason, we did not get any water in the basement that time.

Here is an arial view of how the water flows on the south side of Washington Blvd.  Besides the water running down the street, quite a large quantity of water is also running through the backyards before ending up in the street.

The picture below is the river coming out from the backyards before it runs out on to Elizabeth.  A very similar thing happens as the water comes onto green valley.

Overhead Sewer installed in 1999

Shortly after moving into our house, we realized that during the heavy rains, we would get sewage backing up the floor drains in the basement.  In 1999, we finally did something about it and installed an overhead sewer type system.

The village has an overhead sewer Grant Program where they help cover some of the cost so that helped. 

We got three quotes on the work and we got three different solutions.  One guy wanted to pump out the back of the house and trench around to the front to the sewer.  Another guy would pump out the front and tie into the sewer in the front yard.  The last guy who we went with had the cheapest and most elegant solution.

All the drains in the basement (floor, sink & toilet) were disconnected from the sewer line and rerouted to the new injection pit.  From there, it is pumped up 6 feet and then back down 6 feet to the sewer line.  When the sewage want to backup, it just goes up the 6 foot pipe and can never reach the pit.  The principle at work here is that water seeks its own level in any system.

Since then, we have never has an issue with sewage backup.  The only problem now is the rain water seepage, but that's another issue.

Example of flooding back on 7/24/2010

West Washington Blvd in Lombard has a flooding problem during the really really heavy rains.  The pictures below are the day after one such event on 7/24/2010.  The first picture is looking west down West Washington Blvd. standing near the corner of Washington and Green Valley.  When I went out during the rain the previous night, the flood water was at the barricade. 

This picture is looking south down Elizabeth standing at the corner of Washington and Elizabeth.

Of course when this happens, many of the houses on the block get water in the basement.  I get seepage along the perimeter of the basement floor and through lots of cracks in the floor.  If I do not loose power, it will only get an inch or two deep in the middle of the basement.  The water just runs into the sump pump pit.

I used to get sewage backup as well, but we took care of this back in 1999 when we installed an injection pit with a overhead sewer pipe.