BACKGROUND 

The Village completed a Pond and Stream Bank Study in 1998 where Mitchell Lakes North (Pond 21) and South (Pond 22) were among 33 ponds evaluated for restoration. The study used several factors to establish a prioritization schedule and these two ponds were ranked 3rd and 4th, respectively. The report estimated approximately 10,000 (North) and 8,000 (South) cubic yards of sediment removal would be required by 2018 at an estimated cost of $200,000 (North) and $160,000 (South) in 1998 dollars.

In September 2016, the Village awarded Engineering Resource Associates, Inc. (ERA) with a contract to develop a Watershed Master Plan for Klein Creek. One of the deliverables was to develop a strategy to improve the likelihood of receiving Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) 319 grants for streambank stabilization based on their firm’s experience and understanding of the IEPA’s evaluation criteria. Their recommendation was to partition streambank stabilization projects into sections (see figures at the end of memo) and then combine each one with other projects that created habitat (i.e. detention retrofits) or addressed water-quality through public outreach (i.e. residential rain garden program). This is because most of Klein Creek and it's Tributary No. 2 (aka "Thunderbird Creek", aka "Section IV") is highly channelized (i.e. artificially straightened) and the surrounding land use eliminates the option to re-meander and create additional habitat within the stream corridor itself.

SCHEDULE