Project Overview

The Highlands Flood Reduction Project is one of the largest capital improvement projects in the Village of Libertyville’s history. This project significantly transformed the quality of life for nearly 500 homes in the Highlands Subdivision on the west side of the Village, which had a long history of urban flooding. To provide the needed flood relief, the Village installed 9.3 million gallons of stormwater storage at Nicholas Dowden Park and three miles of storm sewer under streets throughout the subdivision.

The overall project was divided into two construction phases to ease the impact throughout the neighborhood. Phase 1 – storage in the park – included tree preservation, drainage improvements, lower and upper storage areas and park amenities, such as a comprehensive landscape plan, irrigation, restoration of athletic fields and walking paths. Phase 2 included installation of storm sewers more than seven feet in diameter within the Village right-of-way, along tight residential streets and under a mature tree canopy.

CBBEL coordinated extensively with the Village, its residents and other stakeholders to complete this decade-long process to bring flood reduction to the Highlands subdivision.