Welcome to the DuPage County Drainage Division, if you are unable to find an answer to your drainage situation here, please contact our office at (630) 407-6800 for additional assistance. Here you will find information pertaining to maintenance of storm sewer systems in your area to publications we use to educate the public about upcoming and current programs.

Residential Drainage Assistance Program

The DuPage County Department of Public Works administers and manages the Residential Drainage Assistance Program (RDAP). The objective of this program is to assist the County's residents to correct drainage problems in unincorporated areas. RDAP may also offer technical support and/or guidance to residents, if the County cannot provide the construction improvements for the drainage system.

Residential Drainage Assistance Program Brochure

Residential Drainage Assistance Program Questionaire

Flood Damage Questionaire

Drainage FAQ's

Who owns and/or maintains my drainage system?

The township in which you reside generally provides maintenance for road culverts and roadway ditches. If you live along a County owned road the DuPage County Department of Transportation has maintenance responsibilities. However, most general maintenance is the responsibility of the homeowner.

What qualifies me for a drainage project?

The residential drainage assistance program was created to assist neighborhoods where large flood events are preventing emergency vehicles from assisting residents, a residents health is being directly affected, and lastly, the safety of the homeowner is at risk each time it rains.

There is a storm sewer near me, can I connect into it?

Before any homeowner connects directly into an existing storm sewer system, they must receive prior approval from whoever owns and maintains that system.

Why are there no storm sewers in my neighborhood?

When some neighborhoods were developed there was no need for systems as drainage was designed to flow overland. As land has become more developed, there is less open space for water to flow to. Consult your local governing body to see if your area meets requirements for a drainage project.

Why does the stormsewer overtop during large rain events?

During the past year Dupage County has witnessed an increase in the size, frequency, and intensity of storm events. Many of these systems in place were not built to handle storms of this magnitude. The fact remains that to build systems that handle 100 & 500 year storm events the drainage systems would not be cost effectinve for many residential areas.

Why is there standing water in my drainage easement?

In some cases a drainage easement was designed to handle large amounts of runoff, thus leaving the area saturated for longer periods after a rain event.

Why is there standing water in my yard after a rain?

Many contributing factors can result in standing water on your property, ranging from the type of soils to topographical information. Some properties simply take longer to drain than others. Please consult our office for additional information regarding you specific parcel.

My neighbor is causing flooding on my property?

If you believe that someone in your area has affected drainage through construction, development, or sum pump runoff please contact our building department at (630) 407-6700.

What can be done about an underground spring or high water table?

If a resident believes they have an underground spring or high water table, these are natural geographic occurrences which can not be altered through drainage construction by this department. For additional assistance please contact the Illinois Branch of USGS at il.water.usgs.gov/

Why doesn’t my dry well work?

A drywell is basically just a large hole in the ground filled with washed crushed stone into which rainwater drains to perk into the ground, and eventually into the groundwater.

Now, that having been said, these things only work where the makeup of the surrounding soil is rather gravelly / sandy and free-draining. That means that if you dig a hole and fill it with water, the water will disappear into the ground and not just sit there. A consideration here is the prec rate of the soil, which has to do with how fast the water disappears, and how much water the soil can absorb before it becomes saturated.

If your soil is more sandy than clayey, then you might have a good chance of making a drywell work. But it would be best to test before going to all the effort. The test can be accomplished right where you might build a drywell. Once you know if the soil will accept the drainage, then a dry well can be constructed by digging a large and deep (about 4-5 feet) hole. Dump about 2 feet of crushed stone into the hole, and then install a PVC pipe large enough to fit your downspout into, from the stone, back to the house, and up to the downspout. Then dump another foot or so of stone over the pipe, and back fill the hole with native earth. Connect your downspout into the PVC pipe, and you have your drywell. In most situations, wrapping the crushed stone in a filter fabric will prevent the fine particles in the native soil from migrating into the stone and filling the voids. When that happens, it reduces the functional life of the drywell.

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