'Mayor’s office announces $12M pilot project on city’s West Side that will help mitigate flooding by storing stormwater underground,' WGN-TV

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A $12 million pilot project is underway on the city's West Side that will store excess stormwater underground, in order to help reduce flooding, protect more than 2,900 properties and strengthen climate resilience in the area.

Mayor Brandon Johnson announced the project, called Wing Storage, and toured a West Side installation site Tuesday, along with the Department of Water Management (DWM), the Metropolitan Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) and Ald. Emma Mitts (37th Ward).

"We can only expect more storms to come as the effects of climate change hit Chicago's communities," Johnson said during a news conference Tuesday morning. "And of course they hit the South and West Side communities especially hard.

"It is well past time to update and modernize our infrastructure and build a city that works for everyone."

Wing Storage, according to a news release from the mayor's office, is an underground water detention system that serves as an auxiliary holding tank, installed beneath neighborhood streets attached to existing sewer infrastructure. During periods of heavy rain, the underground storage chambers temporarily collect excess stormwater before gradually releasing it into the sewer system once capacity becomes available.

The mayor's office says Wing Storage expands local stormwater capacity without requiring large above-ground infrastructure and helps reduce flooding in surrounding neighborhoods.

"Every Chicagoan deserves to feel confident that their home, business and neighborhood are protected from increasingly severe storms," Johnson said in the release. "This pilot represents an important investment in resilient infrastructure that addresses the impacts of climate change while delivering long-overdue improvements for West Side communities that have experienced repeated flooding.

"Through strong partnerships and innovative solutions, we are building a more resilient Chicago for generations to come."

According to the mayor's office, the $12 million infrastructure investment marks the start of construction on the second of two underground Wing Storage installations that will collectively provide nearly 1.7 million gallons of stormwater storage capacity. The project is a partnership between the DWM and MWRD, with each agency contributing toward the $12 million cost.

The first location, completed this spring, is in Maypole Avenue, between Cicero and Lavergne avenues in the 29th Ward. The second tank is going in LeMoyne Street, between Luna and Lorel avenues in the 37th Ward.

"We're proud to partner with the Chicago Department of Water Management, our West Side elected officials, and especially Alderwoman Emma Mitts, whose leadership and dedication have been instrumental in bringing this innovative flood mitigation project to life," MWRD President Kari K. Steele said in the release.

"Together, we're investing in resilient infrastructure that will help protect residents from stormwater challenges."

The mayor's office says the Wing Storage project comes after severe flooding impacted West Side neighborhoods during major storms in July 2023. It's part of the city's larger strategy to advance climate resilience through equitable infrastructure investments, with portions of North and South Austin, West Garfield Park and Galewood also expected to benefit.

"For years, residents have shared the challenges that repeated flooding brings to their homes, businesses and daily lives," Mitts said in the release. "Today's groundbreaking is an important milestone that reflects our commitment to delivering meaningful infrastructure improvements that respond directly to the needs of our community."

As the Wing Storage pilot advances, the mayor's office says the city and MWRD will evaluate the project's performance to help inform future flood mitigation projects and strengthen Chicago's long-term strategy for building more resilient infrastructure in the face of increasingly severe weather.

"We have to be able to come up with innovative ways of upgrading the sewer system," Department of Water Management Commissioner Randy Conner said Tuesday. "Sometimes we can upsize them, sometimes we can't, so that's why we have projects like this.

"We will continue to do projects like this until we get to a point where we've tried to relieve as much stormwater flooding as we possibly can."