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.

The City of Chicago Department of Water Management and the Metropolitan Water District of Greater Chicago Tuesday are set to unveil two giant underground stormwater storage units meant to help reduce flooding in parts of the city.

Construction is underway on a new underground stormwater storage facility in Chicago's Austin neighborhood. It's part of a broader effort to increase stormwater storage capacity on the city's West Side. While the project will not be completed until the fall, officials say its long-term significance is critical.

Several days of heavy rain have filled parts of Chicago’s Deep Tunnel system for the first time ever. Now the city is turning to more local projects to stop flooding that devastated parts of the west side in 2023.

The MWRD and Chicago’s Department of Water Management came up with an innovative retrofit for a part of the city hit hard by previous storms.

Mayor Johnson lauds a $12 million pilot project to build underground storage in Austin aimed at capturing floodwater before it overwhelms outdated sewers. The city hopes the concept can be a model for other neighborhoods.