SUN CITY – About 12 years ago, Sun City’s Neighborhoods 27 and 28 were designed and built out. That design included construction off a large flood-control detention pond located behind homes along Windsor Drive.
The pond is located on the boundary between Sun City and property occupied by Huntley High School in Consolidated School District 158. The district is currently constructing a major addition to the school in an area immediately north of the pond.
For 10 years, the pond has been an attractive and positive part of Neighborhoods 27 and 28. Residents say they paid significant premiums for their lots, when they bought their homes. In addition to the pond’s primary purpose of flood control, residents feel the pond provides bonuses of ecology, wildlife, and vegetation.
But an engineering issue arose nine months ago and has created some controversy. According to Tim Farrell, Huntley village engineer, the pond’s design included installation of a water quality riser, or standpipe, that is intended to regulate the flow of storm water into and out of the pond and maintain the water at an optimum level for flood control purposes. Storm water flows into the pond from the network of storm drains in the Sun City neighborhoods. It flows out of the pond northward under the high school property and eventually empties into the Kishwaukee River north of Harmony Road.
The standpipe was installed when the pond was built in 2003, Farrell said. It completed its initial operation in 2005, Farrell said. It should have been removed 10 years ago, but for unknown reasons, that never was done. Now, he says the water level in the pond often is too high and is in violation of the Kane County Storm water Ordinance, which the village has adopted.
The standpipe was initially installed to filter out the sediments that comes into the pond during the period of initial construction of the neighborhoods, Farrell said.
“When construction is completed and houses are built, the sediment problem disappears and the standpipe is no longer needed,” he explained. “But since this riser is still there, the pond’s water level takes longer to drop after a rain, constituting an unacceptable risk of flooding, and the pond’s operation is in violation of the Kane County storm water ordinance.
The problem was discovered by engineers working on the high school’s addition construction project in June, 2014.
“Because the pond is on Sun City property, we notified the community’s officials at that time,” Farrell said. Sun City is responsible for maintaining the pond and the surrounding area and completing necessary repairs.”
Residents say they paid “significant” premiums for their homes when they bought them, due to the presence of the pond. They do not believe there is an unacceptable flood risk, and they prefer that the pond be left alone to protect the ecology and environmental condition and appearance of the pond area.
On Mar. 31, a meeting was held by Sun City, village, and school officials in Meadow View Lodge. It was attended by about 50 residents of the two neighborhoods.
“We are concerned about the aesthetic impact if this riser is removed,” said Dr. Arnold Mattis, who said he was a spokesman for residents of Neighborhood 28. The pond is a friend of ours, we appreciate its appearance and the wildlife and vegetation there. We feel like we are being robbed.”
Bill Reining, another N-28 resident, said “there is no danger of flooding there, the pond is more than 25 feet below our back yards.”
At the meeting, Farrell and other engineers and officials said it would take about a week, longer in wet weather, for the pond’s level to drop after the standpipe is removed.
“Your pond is not going way,” he assured residents. “Ecology and vegetation repair shouldn’t be difficult.”
