Client

DuPage County Department of Stormwater Management

Owner

DuPage County Department of Stormwater Management

Project Cost

$8,000,000

Market Sector

Local Government

Expertise

Contracting & Construction Management, Wetlands & Ecology

West Branch Forest Preserve Wetland, Fen & River Restoration

DuPage County, Illinois

  • This multi-year project involved the restoration of a 350-acre preserve. It included a one-mile section of the West Branch of the DuPage River, 90-acres of wetlands, a 34-acre fen and an adjacent prairie.
  • Project goals included improving stormwater management, enhancing aquatic and terrestrial habitat and replacing invasive species with native communities.
  • The river restoration posed a daunting challenge, requiring a solution that involved diverting the existing river while accommodating 100-year storm event volumes.
  • V3 restored the river in phases, building three 40-foot-wide by 20-foot-deep lined diversion channels along the length of the river.
  • The material excavated for the channels was stockpiled out of the floodplain prior to being placed back in the channels and restored.
  • River enhancements included placing 3,500 linear feet of root wads and 5,000 boulders along the shoreline and river bed to address erosion issues and stabilize the banks.
  • Strategic areas of the site were regraded and structural berms constructed to enhance wetland hydrology.
  • Because of its highly sensitive environment, the 34-acre fen had to be cleared by hand.
  • V3 installed 150,000 native plants and seeded more than 200 acres with native plants.
  • Construction was followed by three years of ecological maintenance and monitoring.
  • In addition to the County, the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County also directed work related to the enhancement.