RainReady Calumet Park
The RainReady Calumet Park Steering Committee seeks to eliminate damaging floods through transparent community investment in well-maintained infrastructure, homeowner education, and improved resources for emergency response, while maintaining a tight-knit community.
Resilience Opportunities
The Village of Calumet Park took great steps forward with its sewer maintenance program in 2016, and it has committed to reinstate the municipal cost-share program for home upgrades in 2017. The path forward for the community includes targeted investment in sewer improvements in west Calumet Park and widespread green infrastructure installation to reduce flood risk while creating more beautiful neighborhoods.
Calumet Park has been a close-knit community since it first formed as a predominately Polish town named Caswell in 1912. Soon after World War II, Interstate 57 gave Calumet Park direct access to the Chicago Loop, leading to a boom in the construction of small brick homes and subsequent population growth. The Village now boasts a new 911 Center, a popular Senior Center, and a strong network of community schools. The beloved Community Festival brings residents and business owners together to celebrate Calumet Park each summer.
Like many of its neighbors, Calumet Park has been plagued by chronic floods for years. From 2007 to 2011, 3,362 flood-related insurance claims were filed in the 60827 zip code, with more than $8,073,673 paid out in damages. Residents suffer a mix of basement backup, street and yard flooding, and foundation seepage.
Calumet Park Steering Committee
Community leaders joined together in 2016 to form the RainReady Calumet Park Steering Committee. The Committee is working to implement the RainReady Calumet Park Plan, using green infrastructure to mitigate neighborhood flooding in the Village. They will promote transparency, infrastructure maintenance, and homeowner education on stormwater management.
What We’ve Found
Residents report flooding across town, and say they are ready to take action to address it!
RainReady Solutions
What would a RainReady Calumet Park look like?
RESIDENTIAL PROGRAM
Calumet Park can establish a residential cost-sharing program to help homeowners recover from past storms and prepare for future storms. Under this program, residents would receive financial support for a complete home inspection and improvements targeted at reducing flood risk, like check valves, overhead sewers, and a rain garden.
NEIGHBORHOOD GREENING
Create a network of beautiful residential streets and vibrant neighborhoods built to capture stormwater, increase property values, and make streets safer for walking, biking, and playing. This program would help community members soak up rain by installing green infrastructure in their parkway, yard, schools, parks, and vacant properties in the neighborhood. Installations should be designed with community input and include maintenance plans.
WEST CALUMET PARK NEIGHBORHOOD
The West Calumet Park neighborhood experiences severe and chronic flooding every year. The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District has developed a preliminary plan to reduce flooding using green and grey infrastructure. RainReady and the Village are working together to secure funding for the next step: developing detailed engineering designs.