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Article: Des Plaines takes new look at historic 20-year-old flood
- Article from:
- Des Plaines Times (IL)
- Article date:
- September 28, 2006
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2006, 2008, Des Plaines Times, Pioneer Press. All rights reserved. REPRODUCTION PROHIBITED. (Hide copyright information)
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By the time September turned to October 20 years ago, the Des Plaines River had overflowed its banks and made hundreds of Des Plaines residents homeless.
The great flood of 1986, which left Des Plaines in a state that few had ever seen before and caused $35 million in damages throughout the Des Plaines River Watershed, is still vividly etched in the memories of those who were there cleaning up and assessing damage.
Des Plaines Director of Engineering Timothy Oakley, a staff engineer at the time, said he first began recording river levels at the Miner Street Bridge when the river was rising.
"We knew there was a problem by the level," he said.
Oakley's job was to report back to the city. The ...