Who: Village of Willow Springs officials, including Willow Springs Village President Melissa N. Neddermeyer, village trustees, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago commissioners and staff, community leaders, environmental advocates and local residents will gather for remarks.

What: Willow Springs will host a community event that showcases the newly transformed Town Center grounds surrounding the Willow Springs Village Hall. This major green infrastructure installation promotes attractive streets, curb appeal and resilient communities with new surfaces designed to store more than 1 million gallons of stormwater. 

When: Thursday, July 24, at 2 p.m.

Where: Willow Springs Municipal Center, 1 Village Circle, Willow Springs, Ill.

Willow Springs has replaced traditional paved streets with permeable pavers—adding over 1 million gallons of stormwater storage capacity. The initiative, supported in partnership with the MWRD, represents a major step toward reducing flood risk, improving water quality, and creating a greener, healthier community. 

The improvements, located on Willow Boulevard and Market Street, provide approximately 1,060,554 gallons of storage capacity. The project replaces impervious streets with 62,760 square feet of permeable pavers and reduces the current load to the sewer system to help alleviate flooding within the project area. 

Under terms agreed by Willow Springs and the MWRD in an intergovernmental agreement, the MWRD agreed to invest up to $1.085 million toward the green infrastructure items of the project. The total construction cost, which includes some non-green infrastructure elements, was estimated at $2.1 million.