Our Lady Gate of Heaven News
Thursday, November 8th, 2012
The parking lot at Our Lady Gate of Heaven Church (about 20 miles south of Chicago) had frequently been filled with up to two feet of water after large storms. Now instead of remaining flooded for about three days, the bioswale soaks up rainwater and the lot is usable within a day.
A week after Sandy, another storm is brewing along the U.S. East Coast bringing more rain and flooding to communities that are still struggling to recover. As mass evacuations are ordered, we are reminded of the obvious: nature knows no boundaries when it comes to flooding. Every property owner is at risk.
The statement may seem obvious now, and yet it is so easy to forget. Here in Chicago, the region was pummeled by Hurricane Ike in 2008, with severe storms and flooding in July 2010 and then again in July 2011. Damage is not restricted to cataclysmic events—CNT’s interviews with property owners tell a tragic story of ongoing damage when it rains. Elizabeth Rafferty’s South Side Chicago home has flooded four times in the last two years; flood damage to Jim Vinci’s home in Des Plaines cost him $150,000; and Darlene Crawford estimates that she’s been flooded around 30 times in the last four decades. People told us of the stress they suffer whenever it rains; of days off work, and of the problems tackling mold and dampness. Read more »
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Friday, March 13th, 2009
On March 12, a provision was successfully added to the Water Quality Investment Act of 2009 - one that includes a stormwater management feature that CNT has advocated for and demonstrated through projects like at “Our Lady Gate of Heaven”. By a vote of 317 to 101, legislation encouraging the use of bioswales and other sustainable stormwater management systems to improve the quality of stormwater runoff was added into H.R. 1262.
Read more »
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Friday, September 26th, 2008
On September 13th and 14th, 2008, the Chicago Region experienced a 2-day rainfall that was indeed the “Storm of the Century”. It was the largest storm ever recorded in the 119-year history of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago. The Storm also, at 6.83 inches over two days, nearly met the definition of a 100-year storm in Chicago. Rivers surrounded houses, an interstate highway and several other arterials were closed for days, and thousands of basements were flooded throughout the region.
But CNT and St. Margaret Mary Parish found a small silver lining beneath the clouds on Chicago’s north side.
Read more »
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Wednesday, May 28th, 2008
CNT’s Green Infrastructure research and demonstration projects are moving into their final planting and monitoring season. Read about our current activities and the state of last year’s work.
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Saturday, August 4th, 2007
After the rain, Before the Swale: With help from CNT, this parking lot will soon regain its natural drainage and reduce flooding in a neighborhood church.
Over one hundred years ago, the Calumet area on Chicago’s south side was a wetland teeming with wildlife, but with an environment inhospitable to humans. Developers transformed the landscape by dumping molten slag (a waste product of smelting iron ore into steel) into the wetlands. While this created much solid area to build upon in South Chicago, the slag blocked natural drainage patterns. Subsequent construction of impermeable surfaces such as paved roads and parking lots contributed to the problem. Today developed areas of the Calumet suffer significant flooding during periods of high rainfall.
Our Lady Gate of Heaven, a church in Calumet’s neighborhood of Jeffrey Manor, suffers from the kind of flooding seen all over the area: its parking has flooded with three to four feet of water after heavy rain. Not only was this an inconvenience to the church, Our Lady Gate of Heaven rented out space to a Banner School. When CNT approached the church and offered to help, the offer was gladly accepted.
Very soon, Our Lady Gate of Heaven’s drainage problems will be greatly eased. CNT is constructing a vegetated swale that will allow rain water again to naturally drain the ground. Additionally, A beautiful garden will stand where asphalt and rainwater used to burden students and parishioners.
Green Infrastructure approaches can restore the natural drainage functions in heavily developed areas, protecting water quality through natural filtration, recharging ground and lake water supplies, and reconnecting communities with healthy green space. CNT will monitor the volume of water the swale can absorb at Our Lady Gate of Heaven to quantify its performance. This project is one of several monitored demonstrations where CNT is documenting the effectiveness of Green Infrastructure practices in greater Chicagoland’s climatic, soil, and hydrological conditions. For more information, please see our Natural Resources Program.
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