Crystal Lake to start Crystal Creek restoration, with aim to return to natural state, lessen flooding

The underground portion of Crystal Creek in Crystal Lake will be restored to its natural state starting this summer to combat flooding.

Crystal Creek was pushed underground to flow through stormwater sewer pipes about 60 years ago near Crystal Lake School District 47′s South Elementary School and Lundahl Middle School. After years of planning, the city will bring the creek back to its natural state to improve water quality, the ecology and decrease area flooding.

Because of increased annual rainfall and increasingly intense storms, the city created a plan to address stormwater management in 2017, Director of Public Works and Engineering Michael Magnuson said. The public works department started on the $5 million Crystal Creek project in 2019 by upsizing culverts under Broadway Avenue, Country Club Road, McHenry Avenue and Dartmoor Drive in order to handle 100-year flooding events, Magnuson said. Now with coordination and permits finalized, the city will start with the actual restoration of the creek starting in May.

The project will be split across this summer and next summer in order to limit disruption to the nearby schools, Magnuson said. This summer’s construction will be focused on St. Andrews Lane and Nash Road. Portions of St. Andrews Lane will be closed off for the construction this summer, he said.

Rainfall and severe storms have been steadily increasing for the past 40 years in McHenry County, McHenry County Planning and Development Water Resources Specialist Scott Kuykendall said. When excess rain falls, water gets backed up in the current underground pipes, causing flooding to the west and water accumulates where the creek is supposed to be. “Mother Nature tends to put itself back to its natural state,” Magnuson said.

The city also plans to restore the ecology of the creek by planting native and pollinator plant species. The plants will also aid in further flooding prevention since its 10-foot long roots absorb extra water and prevent soil erosion, Magnuson said. “Nothing is going to live and thrive in a pipe,” he said.

The plants also help recharge groundwater that people depend on for drinking water, Kuykendall said. Crystal Creek runs from Crystal Lake through the Lake in the Hills Fen all the way to the Fox River, bringing water quality benefits to areas beyond Crystal Lake, Magnuson said.

Restoration efforts for the creek are estimated to cost $5 million in total, Magnuson said. The city plans to cover the costs with city funds and a general obligation bond debt package approved in 2022. Officials also applied for federal grants, Magnuson said.

The effort involved cooperation with District 47 and the Crystal Lake Park District since the creek flows into land those districts own. Crystal Lake gave $10,000 to the park district to install another baseball field at another park since the creek will force out one baseball field used by the Crystal Lake Little League at Lundahl Middle School, according to city documents.

Once the project is completed next year, the city will remap the floodplain because it is expected to shrink, affecting homes in the Country Club Addition subdivision, Magnuson said. “Some residences will be completely out of the floodplain,” he said. “The remaining houses that remain, the depth of the flooding will go down.”

Manguson said the city plans on proposing learning opportunities to Lundahl Middle School involving the creek by studying the biology as the creek grows over the years. Kuykendall hopes these efforts continue in the county and notes Algonquin’s efforts to restore the creeks there.

“We’ve learned to actually appreciate and clean our waterways,” Kuykendall said. “The more of these types of projects we get on the ground, the easier it gets for everyone else to follow suit.”