The DuPage County campus in Wheaton is located adjacent to Winfield Creek and receives stormwater runoff from several hundred upstream acres, making it vulnerable to flooding during large storm events. With increasing storm intensity and existing FEMA floodplain, floodway, and wetland constraints, we were engaged to evaluate flood risk under the 0.2% annual chance (500‑year) storm event and develop targeted mitigation strategies to protect campus facilities, including critical public safety operations.

KEY CONTRIBUTIONS:

Flood Risk Evaluation
We completed a campus‑wide flood risk assessment using topographic survey data, historical plan review, and detailed hydrologic and hydraulic modeling to identify buildings susceptible to flooding during extreme storm events.

Critical Facility Identification
Our team identified several at‑risk structures, including the DuPage Public Safety Communications (DU‑COMM) building that houses the County’s 9‑1‑1 operations, helping prioritize mitigation based on building importance and flood exposure.

Mitigation Alternatives Analysis
We evaluated a range of drainage and flood mitigation alternatives, including storm sewer modifications, overland flow improvements, onsite storage, and revised stormwater collection approaches to reduce future flooding potential.

Structural Floodproofing Solutions
Our team developed building‑level floodproofing strategies to protect openings below the modeled 500‑year flood elevation, including floodproof doors and windows, raised penetrations, flood walls, passive flood gates, and deployable temporary barriers.

Design & Implementation Support
We collaborated with County staff to select cost‑effective, maintainable mitigation measures and prepared engineering plans, specifications, and opinions of probable construction cost suitable for public bidding, along with support for state and local permitting.