The torrential rainfall on July 4 poured approximately 6 inches on Darien with roughly 2.4 inches in one hour. This storm caused numerous problems throughout the area. If your home was impacted by the storm, this information is important for you to read. The city recognizes the hardships some residents have faced following this rainfall. The city remains committed to supporting the community during this recovery.
Once your home is safe and the electricity is turned off, the first thing to do is to contact your insurance company. The following link will take you to the Illinois Department of Insurance https://idoi.illinois.gov/consumers/disasters.html advising you what to do before, after and during a disaster. You can also review the department’s brochure here.
A homeowner needs to identify how water entered your home. It primarily comes from sanitary sewer backup, sump pump failure, and/or overland flooding.
- SANITARY SEWER BACKUP- THE SANITARY SEWER SYSTEM IN DARIEN IS OWNED, OPERATED, AND MAINTAINED BY DUPAGE COUNTY. IF YOU EXPERIENCED SANITARY SEWER BACKUP, YOU NEED TO CONTACT DUPAGE COUNTY AT 630-964-7503. When a heavy rainfall causes the quantity of water to exceed the capacity of the DuPage County’s sewer system, pressure builds up in the system and water can back up into unprotected basements. The additional water in a sanitary system during a rain event comes from defective pipe joints, cracks in sanitary sewer pipes, and illegal residential connections of sump pump discharge into the sanitary sewer.
- COUNTY ROADS (OVERLAND FLOODING) – IF WATER ENTERED YOUR HOME FROM A PUBLIC STREET OWNED BY DUPAGE COUNTY (CASS AVE., 75TH STREET, and PLAINFIELD ROAD) you need to contact DuPage County at 630-407-6920.
- DARIEN OWNED ROADS & DETENTION BASINS (OVERLAND FLOODING) Concerns of storm water flooding should be reported to the Municipal Services-Public Works Division at 630-353-8105. After hours, concerns should be reported by calling 911. If overland flooding impacted your home, city staff will review your area for potential causes. City crews routinely inspect, maintain, and repair storm water infrastructure year round to insure the system is working properly. During heavy rains, some city streets in older neighborhoods were designed to temporarily detain water in the streets, until the city’s storm sewer system moves the water out of the neighborhood.
If you need to dispose of damaged items, please contact the city’s waste hauler, LRS, at 844-633-3577. LRS allows one bulk item and 2 cubic yards of debris each week on your garbage day. The city will be providing 3 roll off dumpsters at the following locations for flood damaged items beginning July 7, 2026 at 10:00 a.m.
- City Hall (2) – 1702 Plainfield Road
- Public Works (1) – 1042 S. Frontage Road
Just a reminder, please don’t rely solely on social media information regarding this storm. If you have any questions, please contact Bryon Vana, City Administrator at 630-353-8114 or bvana@darienil.gov.