Elmwood Park, located 10 miles west of the Loop, was originally known as Orison and is now home to over 25,000 residents. The first farmers settled here in the 1840’s. In 1870 The Chicago & Pacific Railroad laid down tracks, this brought in many spectators. With the new locals coming in they brought many of the smaller farms and prepared for residential development. Locals knew that the transportation in town was key their development and what used to be open prairie and farmland was converted to streets, with lighting and sewer lines. In 1914 Elmwood Park was incorporated as a village.It seems like certain parts of Elmwood Park get flooded every couple of years. The flood of June 2009, July 2010 and July 2011 were bad in particular. In 2011 around seven inches of rain fell in just a few hours, which overwhelmed the sewer systems and caused basements to get water in many parts of the village. Throughout the years the Village of Elmwood Park has installed several underground water retention reservoirs that help with storm water storage during torrential rains. They have been proven to be effective and it has been reported more reservoirs may be installed in the future. Also, as the area has a combined sewer system, it is important for homeowners to remember to properly disconnect their downspouts from the sewer line.
