Of storms, rain & roads

Finally, a stretch of lovely, mild weather - well, with the exception of the brutal storm on Monday.

The storm knocked our power out for just an hour, but the Internet was down for two days. And then came Tuesday, and fields of purple coneflowers and monarda suddenly blooming! I guess they needed the rain.

The rainbarrels needed the water too -- ours were nearly empty, but the 3/4 inch storm managed to fill them back up with run-off from the roof!

In case you hadn't noticed, this isn't just summer - it is also road construction season. Construction and reconstruction, and then adding insult to injury, so many traffic lights out, further slowing any movement through Crystal Lake and points East!

Yes, I know, that sounds like a good reason to just stay home!

If you are like me, and drive on Route 14 between Woodstock & Harvard every week, you too have been witness to a perplexing series of road projects:

- first, crews were out replacing many of the centerline reflectors. They would remove one, fill the hole with asphalt, cut a new hole, and install the new reflector about 10 inches from the old one.

- then, they decided to do some pretty extensive patching. This was actually quite a fascinating process to watch -- and while waiting, or moving very slowly past the work crews for several weeks, I had lots of time to watch. First, the pieces of road to be removed were marked with spray paint, then someone came along with a piece of equipment designed to cut the road -- a big circular saw set to cut a line about 2 inches deep. Next, someone came along to blow the dust away from the cuts, presumably so the next workers could see the cuts. Then came a jackhammer machine to break up the road, followed by the big backhoe to dig the broken road out and put it in a dump truck. Finally, the holes were filled with asphalt, and compressed with a steamroller of some sort. They must have done over a hundred of these patches during the month of June.

- So, imagine my surprise when, July 5th, I noticed that ALL of the centerline reflectors (old and new) had been removed. And next thing I knew, they started grinding off the top two inches of the road all the way from Hughes/Hartland Road just west of Woodstock, to Dean Street. Now, in July, I have had the priviledge of watching a giant road-eating machine grind off the very same patches that were installed just a few weeks ago. I'm not kidding.

I have to believe that there was a more cost-effective way to manage this whole thing. Like maybe just do the current work, and skip the first two projects? I'm all for people having jobs, but do they all have to be employed to do (and undo) things on the same stretch of road?

Maybe I should spend some more time at home in the garden instead of out cursing the construction traffic. I certainly have plenty of rain water to use now!

Fleming Road Plans

We've had quite a few calls from TLC members asking about the County's plans for rebuilding Fleming Road in Bull Valley.

It is a short stretch of road that runs less than 3 miles between Country Club Road on the south and Route 120 on the north. I drove the road this morning after reading today's article in the Northwest Herald. The article reports on the Open House that the County's Highway Department had Tuesday night to begin discussing the proposed road repairs with members of the community.

It appears that the County is taking pains to avoid the debacle that occurred last year when the plans for widening Alden Road were announced!

Fleming is already designated a scenic road by the county, and the 5 minute drive along the road - even on an overcast day like today - makes the reason clear. The road is narrow, hilly, and many areas are lined with oak woods. The character of the road is decidedly rural in character, which should prompt drivers to slow down - which is one key to safety!

Road construction is a frustrating endeavor (in my opinion). People like their cars, and don't like to drive on roads with potholes or washboard conditions. Many people also like to push the speed limits, and seem unfazed by poor visibility or poor road conditions. Highway engineers are often motivated by safety when they propose widening road, removing hills and curves, and cutting down trees.

But, that is why it is so important that residents get involved in the process early, and stay involved, because the safety of those few reckless maroons who want to shave a few seconds off their drive should not dictate the design of any road.

The expressed goal of the county is to improve the roadway while preserving the scenic character of the route. We'll be watching the project as it moves forward, as this road - that runs through the center of the largest concentration of oak woodlands in the county - and the residents who live along it, should continue as a scenic road.

Lots of good news for local oaks

Project Quercus is all about preserving and regenerating the oak woods of the county. And, as we have been saying for a couple of years, the only way we are going to have oaks as a significant part of the local landscape 100 years from now is if individuals, local governments and local businesses all step up to do what they can.

Just this week, we had two perfect examples of how the community can step up -- and, frankly, how some in the community want to step up and help.

On Earth Day, April 22nd, Infinity Day Spa in Crystal Lake, and Ohana Farms near Marengo teamed up with TLC to plant 20 white oak saplings at Ryders Woods Conservation Area in Woodstock. That's Robin Tessmann from Infinity - the awesome spa owner who closed her business for a few hours so her staff could come out to plant the trees. They did it as a promotion for their customers, so each tree was dedicated to someone. Ohana donated the 2-year old, bare-root trees, TLC brought the shovels, buckets and flags, and the City of Woodstock supplied the mulch. There are a lot of big, old white oaks in the park, but no young trees, so it will be nice to see some young 'uns growing there too! The NW Herald did an article about it but forgot to mention TLC...

The second example also happened on Earth Day, when OWC (Other World Computing) made a donation to TLC to support the planting of 20 oaks at Westwood Conservation Area on Saturday May 16th! Thanks to OWC employee Kayleen Ivers for asking TLC about this, and for working with us to make it happen.

There is a nice story about it on OWC's blog which is read by their customers across the country: http://blog.macsales.com/. OWC built a new office and warehouse last year, meeting all of the environmental and energy efficiency standards necessary to achieve LEED Platinum certification through the US Green Building Council. That's a really big deal in the construction world.

Their heating and cooling is geothermal, they are planning to install a wind turbine system to generate electricity, the building is super insulated, the grounds include native plantings, AND they are making investments in the community where they are located to support sustainability here too.

TLC is happy to be a part of these local businesses' efforts to "green" the community!!

Construction Season in Full Swing

Last Friday, I went out to see the progress being made on a creek crossing at a subdivision in Johnsburg. TLC is supposed to be taking a conservation easement on the creek and associated buffers sometime this spring, and I wanted to see the construction activity for myself.

The site is a mess - with all this rain we have had, there is mud everywhere. Deep ruts in the access lane, piles of topsoil heaped in various places. But, the creek water was clear.

Despite the fact that it was raining when I was out there, and it had rained heavily just two days before, the creek water was clear, and I saw minnows (or darters) swimming in the cool water.

The visit got me thinking about construction sites in general. They are a mess. There is no getting around that. The question is always whether the mess is being contained to appropriate locations on the property so that it doesn't spill over onto neighboring properties, onto the public roads, or into natural areas.

To manage the mess, most developers use silt fencing to contain the mud that wants to run-off of the site each time it rains. For larger sites, the silt fences should be combined with things like sediment traps, straw bale dams (to slow flow heading down hills), and even stabilization through seeding with a "cover crop" such as annual rye grass.

Construction sites that disturb more than one acre of soil are required to have a permit from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA). Inspections related to these permits are performed by the McHenry County Soil & Water Conservation District in Woodstock. Additionally, most construction projects of any size are covered by the Stormwater Ordinance for the county.

If you suspect that a construction site isn't doing enough to prevent damage to surrounding properties, or to safeguard wetlands and streams flowing through the construction site, please contact the Soil & Water office at 815-338-0099 x3. If the project is in a municipality, contact the Village Hall about the problem. If the project is in an unincorporated area of the county contact the County's Planning and Development department 815-334-4560.