McHenry County residents wall off homes to protect against rising Fox River

Jason Bell has lived in Nanda Township for 27 years and has seen the Fox River flood many times. And this week it’s flooding again.

Along Beach Street in the Bayview Beach area, homes lined up along a narrow channel away from the river, and docks and boats were submerged. Since Wednesday, Bell has been off work and has been stacking sandbags along the road to keep the water away from him and his neighbors.

“I’ve been working as hard as I can,” he said.

Bell said thousands of sandbags now form a barrier along a street affectionately known as the “Great Wall of Bayview.” He and neighbor Joan Kelch have survived five floods here. He says the current situation is shaping up to be a worst-case scenario.

Still, he points to the people behind the effort as the difference.

“Strangers going to Nanda and making sandbags, that sense of community is what allows us to protect our homes,” Bell said. “That’s something to see.”

That effort quickly expanded. More than 100 volunteers spent Sunday filling and stacking sandbags across Nanda Township as officials warn the Fox River could reach major flood levels within days in McHenry County.

Town crews are producing about 3,500 sandbags an hour in response to hundreds of calls from homeowners living in low-lying areas along the river.

So far 60,000 sandbags have been filled in Nanda since it began last Wednesday, following predictions that the river crest would collapse in mid-week.

“It’s terrible,” Nanda Township Supervisor Mike Shorten said. “You can see where the water is supposed to be, and you can see where the water is. Where the water is is not the right place.”

The Fox River, which flows from southeastern Wisconsin into McHenry County, is expected to continue rising until it reaches its peak, or crest, later this week. In McHenry, multiple river levels are reaching their highest levels this week.

Water levels in Algonquin’s drainage basin are expected to rise to more than 12 feet by Thursday morning and then recede, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Water Level Prediction Service.

River levels at Stratton Locks and Dam in McHenry County reached about 7 feet Monday and were designated as major flood conditions, said David Christensen, director of the McHenry County Office of Emergency Management.

Major flooding indicates flooding of buildings and roads. In Nanda, Lawson Bridge Road is currently closed due to flooding.

But river conditions can change quickly, Christensen added, so officials are monitoring water gauges upstream in Wisconsin for clues about what might happen next. Water levels in New Munster, further north along the Fox River, often serve as a predictor for McHenry County because both communities share the same watershed.

This week’s severe storms and record rainfall have already caused some rivers in the Chicago area to swell. The Des Plaines River peaked at 18 feet on Monday (below the 2013 record of 20.9 feet) and is slowly receding. The Fox River in McHenry County is also forecast to remain below its record high of 13.2 feet set in 2013.

Still, past floods have shaped local authorities’ responses.

“This is an issue in Nanda Township,” Shorten said. “We had some of the worst flooding in recent history in 2017 and 2013, and we had to start a similar process there.”

He said he expected this week’s flooding to be on par with 2017 flood conditions. Christensen warns that it’s important to evacuate ahead of flooding to reduce damage.

“It’s too late now or too late to take emergency mitigation measures like sandbags,” Christensen said. “Once the crown stands, it’s over. If it’s already flooded, we can’t protect it.”

He also warned residents to avoid contact with floodwaters, which could carry pollution from overflowing septic tanks.

In Nanda, authorities continue to call for more volunteers to distribute sandbags to help residents build a sea wall in front of the river’s crest.

But for nearby Bell and Kelch, early efforts are already making a difference. They believe their homes will be better protected from this flood thanks to the sandbags stacked high along the streets.

“I truly believe we would be in a much different place if we didn’t have people who wanted to serve and help the community,” Krech said. “We really need to come together, because if we don’t, it’s not going to work.”