Chicago is quietly tucking massive stormwater tanks under West Side streets, betting that a pair of buried concrete boxes can keep the next big downpour from ending up in residents' basements.

Chicago leaders on Tuesday unveiled new equipment that they hope can prevent flooding on the city's West Side.

Multiple rounds of heavy rain fell between July 2 and July 4, leading to flash flooding in streets and rising river levels across the greater Chicago region, with some municipalities reporting 8 to 10 inches of rain over the 48-hour period.
According to the MWRD, its two largest Deep Tunnel reservoirs are nearly at capacity.

The 'Deep Tunnel' takes stormwater and sewage from parts of the Chicago area and collects it in reservoirs for treatments, and it's the result of decades of work

The rain over the July Fourth holiday weekend overwhelmed a massive system meant to handle Chicago's stormwater, causing untreated water to be dumped into area rivers.

Local leaders highlighted two new stormwater storage tanks Tuesday that they say will help reduce flooding in parts of the city's West Side.

A $12 million pilot project is underway on the city’s West Side that will store excess stormwater underground, in order to help reduce flooding, protect more than 2,900 properties and strengthen climate resilience in the area.
Mayor Brandon Johnson announced the project, called Wing Storage, and toured a West Side installation site Tuesday, along with the Department of Water Management (DWM), the Metropolitan Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) and Ald. Emma Mitts (37th Ward).

With impending rain, the MWRD encourages area residents and business owners to reduce water use during and after the storm to help prevent flooding and protect water quality.

MWRD Executive Director John Murray joins WTTW to discuss how 13 billion gallons of combined storm and waste water flowed into two Cook County reservoirs this past weekend as part of the region’s network of stormwater management infrastructure.

Video: Inside the command center of the MWRD, it has been all hands on deck. Between July 2 and July 4, about 8-10 inches of rain fell over 48 hours, creating a precarious situation at two of the district’s large deep tunnel reservoirs.