Project Overview

The Chestnut Alley Improvements were designed to reduce frequent, severe residential flooding by constructing a permeable paver alley and upgrading an undersized pump station all while providing water quality and stormwater benefits to include a bioswale.

The Chestnut Alley Improvements Project began with hydraulic & hydrologic modeling in 2018 to determine the proposed scope of work and proposed pump station capacity required to provide the greatest benenfit for the village. The final design included approximately 6,000 cubic feet of storage under the pavers and bioswale, and along with the new pump station, lowering the water surface elevation approximately one foot for up to 10-year storm events. The key to the project was the one on one coordination meetings with the business owners and home owners adjacent to the alley.

Prior to and in conjunction with the project, CBBEL coordinated with the DuPage County Department of Stormwater Management, which provided the village with a $100,000 Water Quality Improvement Program (WQIP) grant for the construction of the permeable pavers and bioswale improvements.

The improvements also required diligent coordination with utility companies, due to an old, existing gas main that was relocated and upgraded by Nicor due to the proposed improvements. CBBEL provided a full range of engineering services for this project, including topographic survey, hydrologic and hydraulic modeling, grant application preparation and submittal, design engineering and construction engineering.