Constructed on the site of a former quarry, the Meacham Grove Flood Control Facility is located in the Village of Bloomingdale within the Meacham Grove Forest Preserve. This gravity-operated offline storage reservoir and adjacent wetland area provide 575 acre-feet, or more than 187 million gallons, of floodwater storage from nearby Springbrook Creek, which is the largest tributary to Salt Creek.
DuPage County Stormwater Management collaborated with the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County to design and construct the Meacham Grove Flood Control Facility in 1996. The facility is a major element of the Lower Salt Creek Watershed Plan, which serves to reduce flood damages in the area.
To mitigate for flooding, floodwater from Springbrook Creek is diverted first into a wetland via an earthen dam with a box culvert constructed across the Creek. During rain events, when elevations in both the Creek and wetland rise, floodwater will begin to spill over the labyrinth weir into the adjacent Meacham Grove reservoir. Pictured below, the labyrinth weir consists of a series of trapezoidal structures, which increase the effective length of the weir without increasing the actual length of the weir. Following floods, the reservoir drains by gravity through an outlet south of the flood control facility back into Springbrook Creek.
Meacham Grove Reservoir
Labyrinth Weir
