February 11, 2025
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Joliet takes action on flooding with $12 million downtown levee

City will share costs with Army Corps of Engineers

By Bob Okon
Jefferson Street Bridge seen from the Des Plains River walkway in downtown Joliet. Wednesday, July 27, 2022 in Joliet.

The Des Plaines River flows through downtown Joliet. (Gary Middendorf - gmiddendorf@shawnedia.com/Gary Middendorf)

Construction could begin by 2025 on a $12 million levee being designed to avert flooding in downtown Joliet.

The project has been in the works since 2019 as the city tries to resolve a floodplain issue that has been brewing for at least 15 years with the federal government.

The Army Corps of Engineers, which would fund most of the construction costs, this month released a formal Detailed Project Report and Environmental Assessment for the levee and is taking public comment on the study through Oct. 16.

“This is the first big hurdle that needs to be taken to move the project forward to construction,” said Sean Markos, the city’s deputy director of public works for engineering.

Construction of the levee would take a large segment of downtown Joliet and some some neighboring areas out of a floodplain that was designated in 2019 by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The Des Plaines River on Wednesday, May 17, 2017, in Joliet, Ill. The Federal Emergency Management Agency is threatening to declare a section of downtown Joliet a flood plain, something that could boost insurance rates for downtown businesses if the city does not spend the estimated $2 million to prevent a flood that city officials note never has happened and they think never will.

The future levee would be built in an area north of the Ruby Street bridge where the old Illinois and Michigan Canal connects with the Des Plaines River.

The creation of the floodplain map forced many property owners to get flood insurance, something city officials want to reverse by building the levee. City officials for at least 10 years contested the creation of the floodplain, arguing flood walls along the Des Plaines River and the Brandon Lock and Dam was sufficient to prevent flooding downtown. But the city lost the argument in 2019 when FEMA created the current map.

Joliet is working jointly with the Army Corps of Engineers and sharing costs for the project. Approval of the project report is needed to release federal funds to help pay for levee construction.

Joliet could spend close to $5 million for its share of the levee project.

The city already is paying almost $192,000 for its share of the costs in preparing the project report. Joliet also contributed professional services to the preparation of the report estimated at a value of $268,00. The entire cost of the report is $919,000.

The levee would be built in an area north of the Ruby Street bridge where the old Illinois & Michigan Canal connects with the Des Plaines River.

FEMA identified that spot as a location where the river could flood into the downtown area.

The city of Joliet website, joliet.gov, has posted a link to the Detailed Project Report and Environmental Assessment. Comments questions about the report should be sent to Jason Zylka, a biologist with the Army Corps of Engineers, at jason.zylka@usace.army.mil.

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