REGIONAL DETAILED WATERSHED PLANNING IN THE LITTLE CALUMET RIVER WATERSHED, CHICAGO IL

The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (District) is currently developing a Detailed Watershed Plan (DWP) for the Little Calumet River Watershed in Cook County, Illinois. The objective of the DWP is to identify regional stormwater related concerns and develop alternative solutions to address those concerns. The District is coordinating the planning effort with the Little Calumet River Watershed Planning Council (WPC). The WPC membership is comprised of 38 municipalities and is coordinated by the South Suburban Mayors and Managers Association.Areas within the watershed have experienced stormwater related problems for many years. During initial data collection efforts, almost 200 individual stormwater related issues were reported for consideration in the DWP effort.The planning process consists of several steps, including gathering information on current watershed conditions, analyzing the suitability of existing information, obtaining required new data, developing extensive hydraulic and hydrologic models of the watershed, identifying potential projects to address stormwater related concerns such as flooding and water quality, quantifying benefits and estimating the costs of potential projects.When finalized, the DWP will contain detailed information on the watershed's areas of concern and a listing of proposed regional capital improvement projects to address concerns based upon benefit / cost analysis and consideration of non-economic factors such as water quality. The firm of Camp, Dresser & McKee is assisting with the development of the DWP.Manuscript and presentation will include the planning process, public involvement, data collection efforts, hydraulic and hydrologic model development, and initial potential alternative solutions to stormwater related issues in the Little Calumet River Watershed.