Floodplain Management

Flooding
The Village of Niles straddles two major watersheds; The west side of the village is the Des Plaines River Watershed, while the east side is in the North Branch Chicago River watershed. The village has 44 miles of combined sewers, 48 miles of sanitary sewer mains, and 94 miles of storm sewer mains.

The most reported flooding problems in the Village of Niles include sanitary / combined sewer backups, overland flooding through doors, windows, and tops of foundation, and street / yard flooding. During extreme flood events, some North Branch Chicago River overbank flooding.

Drainage
Drainage problems can be generally classified in five separate categories:
  • Sewer capacity
  • Overland flow route capacity
  • Overbank flooding
  • High groundwater
  • Maintenance-related drainage issues
Preparation
While the village cannot prevent flooding, we do take several steps to reduce its impact. Before a project is constructed, village staff works with the developer to ensure that the proposed project minimizes the impact to adjacent properties. A new project must meet the stringent guidelines established in the Stormwater Management Ordinance of Village Code.

Community Rating System
The village participates in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and was accepted October 2013 by the Community Rating System, which is a program to help the Village maintain minimum national standards with regard to floodplain regulations.

Real-time Information
Real-time flood stage information is now available for the North Branch Chicago River on the National Weather Service website and the Unites States Geological Service website.

If you should require further or more detailed information regarding flood-related issues in the Village of Niles, here are some additional sources: