Couple stranded on property
By TIM KANE
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tkane@nwherald.com
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UNION – A woman living on 7 acres along Union Road said recent flooding of the south branch of the Kishwaukee River has left her stranded on her property.
Linda Nickels, of 5304 N. Union Road, said Monday morning that she could not get out of her driveway, which is hundreds of yards long and a portion of which is under 2 feet of water and ice. She works for an insurance company in Elgin.
A UPS driver stopped briefly Monday morning to make a delivery at Nickels' home, took a quick look, got back into his van, and drove off.
"This has happened four times since we've lived here," Nickels said. "The last time I was stuck about a week on my property because of the flooding."
Nickels moved onto the 7-acre parcel about two years ago.
During the summer of 2007, Nickels said she paid "thousands" to have gravel spread on top of the road, to build it up so she could drive on it when the high water came.
But McHenry County officials forced her to remove the material because it was inhibiting the flow of water across her property. She said she paid "thousands" more to have the gravel removed.
She said the county expanded the designated flood plain after she bought the property. Special rules under federal and state law govern what man-made objects can be put on a flood plain.
Nickels' neighbor Jeanne Camp, who owns Frontier Ponds, which installs decorative ponds and other water features, said the front of her property has flooded, too.
"My front yard has turned into a pond," Camp said. "Our sump pumps are going constantly. Melting snow and a rising river is doing it. It floods here every summer, but not usually at this time of year."
Dennis Sandquist, director of the McHenry County Planning and Development Department, said that a 2005 permit was issued to build a road on the property. But the permit stated that the road had to be at the existing grade because it was in the flood plain.
In 2007, the county received a complaint that the road had been elevated "with fill."
Sandquist said his department notified Nickels that she had options. One option was to put a culvert under the road to allow for the flow of water. But that entailed expensive engineering.
"It was costly, and they elected to remove the fill," Sandquist said. "The real solution would be to install a culvert. A temporary solution would be to install sandbags, which is allowed in a flood plain during a flood situation. …
"Installing sandbags now and pumping out the water out is an option. But that, too, is costly. These rules are in place to protect the flood plain. If we didn't enforce these rules, nobody around here would be able to get flood insurance."
Nickels said those options are not feasible at the moment.
"We don't have the money," Nickels said. "My husband has been out of work."
