The City of Chicago Department of Water Management (DWM) and the MWRD will showcase construction of an innovative pilot of a wing storage unit designed to help mitigate flooding by collecting and storing stormwater in this flood prone area.

Two of the three reservoirs in the Metropolitan water Reclamation District system are at least 94% full and holding billions of gallons of water.

Two of the MWRD's reservoirs are nearly full after four rounds of strong to severe thunderstorms dropped heavy rainfall on the same general areas over Fourth of July weekend.

The MWRD partnered with the City of Chicago to fund the construction of $12 million in underground stormwater storage facilities designed to help mitigate flooding for West Side residents and build capacity for local sewers to capture rainfall during intense storms.

The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago reported Monday the Thornton Composite Reservoir was at 94% full, with 7.3 billion gallons.

The Thornton and McCook reservoirs, designed to hold billions of gallons of rainwater, are nearly full.
As of Monday, July 6, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) had stored over 13 billion gallons of stormwater in its deep tunnels and reservoirs following severe weekend storms that dumped 3.77 inches of rain on the Calumet Water Reclamation Plant alone.

A soggy start to summer with near-record rainfall has left Chicago’s Deep Tunnel stormwater retention system almost full.
The Deep Tunnel, which was constructed over the course of more than five decades, is a system of underground tunnels and reservoirs that captures and stores stormwater and sewage that could otherwise overflow into waterways.

This weekend’s heavy rainfall in the Chicago area has helped to fuel record amounts of stormwater being stored in Cook County’s reservoirs, nearly 20,000 Olympic-size swimming pools’ worth.

The Thornton Reservoir, which serves many surrounding south suburbs, is nearing capacity after storms swept through the area this past weekend. FOX Chicago’s Joanie Lum has the latest on its condition.

Thornton Reservoir nearly full after heavy storms over weekend