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11. KimJ
    Member

    Picnic, in the "out of doors???" How dare humans snack outside! Eating outside could lead to people eating tree bark or something, that would be bad. Save the trees! Keep people eating inside! (If you don't get my humor, the previous comments are jokes.)

    However, the previous posts made me think of an article I recently read in the local paper.

    This author sure does inspire me!

    http://www.rblandmark.com/main.asp?Search=1&ArticleID=5082&SectionID=3&SubSectionID=46&S=1

    "After checking in, I decided to take a walk, and followed the gravel path along the Des Plaines River. There must have been 30 to 40 families enjoying a picnic in the area of Swan Pond that is an island again after a portion of the river was rerouted per the village's original plan. "

    Posted Monday Jun 22, 2009 16:36 #

12. Catherine
    Member

    I actually never do see residents picnicking there. But I do see out-of-towners fishing there. This I find incongruous, to say the least.

    If we could rebuild it with stone blocks, not concrete, that would be good. That was put in by the CCC, no? I don't see why we would need the leave of the Army Corps of Engineers to restore it. Are they going to send the National Guard in?

    Posted Monday Jun 22, 2009 16:52 #

13. spatny
    Member

    It was built by The CCC with broken roadbed - not stone blocks. That's what is there now Anderson could do it in a week as he did the steps further downstream a couple years ago. This is not building something new or bigger - just replacing what is missing or broken. We don't need any permits.

    The river flooding West would require a high berm the residents didn't want, and that would just push the backup water further north - where it comes around through Maplewood now. This is a large problem without end. Fixing the breaks in the Swan Pond is a small thing.

    Posted Monday Jun 22, 2009 17:27 #

14. JohnM
    Member

    Catherine,

    How do you know they are out of towners?

    With respect to the wall, it may be a project that the Village could take on without any permits, but--like the gravel lot--it pays to check into these things beforehand. Any time you mess with a river, someone downstream or upstream feels the impact, hence the reason the Corps of Engineers gets involved. Swan Pond is a flood plain, and what we're seeing may be nature just reclaiming it's own. I'd like to see the wall fixed, and I'd like it if we could stop the regular flooding. However, I've got a suspicion that it might not be as simple as it appears.

    A few years back (and maybe still) there was a movement to remove or notch the dams. This was primarily driven by those interested in enhancing the biodiversity upstream. The area below the Hoffman dam is now a fairly thriving fishery, with walleye, northern and, I think, smallmouth bass among the sport species to be found. ABove the dam, it's bullhead and carp. I'm not sure if dam removal would impact flooding, but I wonder if anyone else knows?

    Posted Monday Jun 22, 2009 19:30 #

15. spatny
    Member

    I was just referring to fixing some leaks and replacing some missing blocks - nothing else. Big, record floods, that's something else - and they look like they benefit the tree growth. But now we get these flash flood occurrences because of paving up north. Fixing a flat tire does not require a permit from the State Police. Why is it everything has to be looked at through the wrong end of the telescope? The wall leaks. Some of th top course blocks have fallen in, or are missing. Fixing it will stop most of the flooding and make the park usable, and prevent the mosquito incubabtion that is happening right now. If you had fence and a board broke and your dog was escaping you'd fix it, right? No need to get a permit. Same thing here.

    Dam notching? With the State budget shortfall? I doubt I'll ever see it.

    Posted Wednesday Jun 24, 2009 16:13 #

16. Catherine
    Member

    I can tell they are out-of-towners because I see them park and get out of cars that do not have Riverside stickers. Second, I can tell because they are breaking the law. This is likely because they do not know it.

    Yeah, I don't think restoring the wall (that was already there) requires a lot of folderol. Mosquitoes are certainly a public health hazard with West Nile, potentially fatal to some.

    Posted Wednesday Jun 24, 2009 16:35 #

17. JohnM
    Member

    Ok. Maybe I'm doing what I'm accusing Don of doing with respect to development in the CBD--that is, being negative. If these breaches in the wall are fixable, and if this would have an impact on flooding, and if this can be done cheaply and quickly, it should be handled. I understand that a local boy scout is going to be working on the trail there as part of his Eagle Scout project--perhaps the Village could take an example from this and look into forming a volunteer crew to fix the walls.

    Posted Thursday Jun 25, 2009 09:31 #

18. spatny
    Member

    It will require the use of some heavy equipment. You may remember 2-3 years ago the Swan Pond steps were repaired by a contractor local here in the village. Much the same kind of work, but the pieces of roadbed need to be cut and lifted with a machine, probably a backhoe, and you need one to bring concrete from the road to the river, and also to back fill where the path has eroded. This is heavy work but would only take a couple of days. Of course, it can also be blown up into a quarter million dollar project if it starts to get glamorous, or a million if you want to reroute the river and recreate Picnic Island. I'm just talking of a standard to keep the water out through 90% of the floods and making the path walkable for seniors or people pushing a buggy. Maybe a rustic bench so they could rest would be nice. I'll donate that.

    Posted Thursday Jun 25, 2009 13:25 #

19. Fred
    Member

    The berm leaks. Building it up will stop overtopping, but Swan Pond will fill up anyway. The increased pressure on the berm will just cause it to degrade quicker. There used to be a gravity drainage system (built by the WPA) to drain the pond after the water recedes, but that is silted in. I think Dean Eastman has studied the problem and can confirm. The cheapest, easiest, quickest, legal solution is to do exactly what public works did a couple years ago. Wait until the river recedes-pump the pond out for a day and a half. Sorry to end what could have been a lengthy debate.

    Posted Thursday Jun 25, 2009 15:12 #

20. spatny
    Member

    The water comes in in four places. It flows in through holes in the concrete wall, at two lower places, and over tops where blocks that used to be there have been lost. A total of about 50 feet in four areas would need to be repaired, some with putting back the missing blocks/material, cementing in a couple holes. It will not increase the pressure because the other side is lower and open to accepting that water for miles downstream. I am in this area every day - several times a day - and I can tell you this is what causes most of the water in the Swan Pond. Of course water gets there from the rain, from the surrounding hillside, and some perks up from below because the Swan Pond is lower in places than the river. But this would solve the problem of having several 2-3 ft deep inundations over 70-80% of the park several times a year. The old drain system works when the river drops below it - but there is more and longer periods of high water now because more flows into the river and Salt Creek quicker. When the water leaks in through gaps, it erodes the path. But when it over tops it roils behind the wall and undermines it. Last November I worked with two village guys and a bucket loader to backfill a spot that was severely undermined. It needs it again because it overt opped again

    Here's another thread I will leave to all you "experts." You always seem to have some reason not to do things.

    Posted Thursday Jun 25, 2009 16:29 #

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