Substation Flood Proofing

Chicagoland Area - Various, Illinois

As part of the utility company’s resiliency initiative to improve power supply reliability, V3 designed flood proofing modifications for various at-risk substations located within the floodway/floodplain associated with different flooding sources and waterways.
To minimize subsurface utility conflicts, the design at some substation flood walls included a precast concrete block wall system wrapped with an impermeable ethylene propylene diene monomer liner.
Other aspects of the design included ingress/egress openings equipped with a removable flood plank system and a pump station to handle interior drainage. The wall height considers both regulatory and best available data flood elevation information and is designed to protect the substation to an elevation of more than one foot above the flood insurance study’s 500-year flood elevation.
The flood proofing improvements were “fast tracked” and involved extensive coordination and permitting with DuPage County, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago and Illinois Department of Natural Resources Office of Water Resources.
V3 has performed flood proofing feasibility and design services at the following substations:
- TDC555 Glen Ellyn
- TSS121 Freeport
- TSS192 Ridgeland
- TDC414 Roberts Road
- TDC557 Butterfield
- TSS69 North Chicago
- DCS66 Pontiac
- TSS46 Des Plaines
- TSS107 Dixon
- TDC566 Oak Brook
- TDC580 Downers Grove
- TSS64 Bellwood
- TSS153 Taylor Street