Kane County Forest Preserve District Approves Contract for Wetland Restoration at Chicago Premium Outlets

The Forest Preserve District of Kane County Commission has approved a contract with an engineering firm to evaluate and design repairs to a wetland complex near the Chicago Premium Outlets shopping center.

The work is related to the restoration of 75 acres of wetlands, created as part of the mall’s original development in 2003.

The system, which is not accessible to the public, includes a series of pools surrounding a re-meandered section of Indian Creek to the north of the mall.  Water levels within the pools are controlled through a network of earthen berms and water-control structures.

Over the last 20 years, those berms have deteriorated because of erosion from wave action and damage caused by beaver activity and blocked water-control structures that have contributed to flooding, district officials said. Several berm failures have caused adjacent pools to equalize in water level, potentially reducing the wetlands’ stormwater capacity and threatening native plant communities.

The original wetland system project was approved by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 2017 and later turned over to the Forest Preserve District, which assumed long-term maintenance responsibility. The site represents one of the first wetland mitigation banks for which the Kane County Forest Preserve District became the long-term steward.

District staff said the engineering work will evaluate the current condition of the berms and develop design solutions and cost estimates for repairs that would restore the wetland system to its intended function.

The contract with the firm that completed the original design and installation, includes engineering, design and permitting services, with an additional $5,000 set aside as a contingency for unexpected costs, bringing the total project cost to $44,300.

Funds for the project were previously budgeted in the district’s engineering, permitting and design account.