Floods of October 1954 in the Chicago Area, Illinois and Indiana
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UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OP THE INTERIOR GEOLOGICAL SURVEY FLOODS OF OCTOBER 1954 IN THE CHICAGO AREA ILLINOIS AND INDIANA By Warren S. Daniels and Malcolm D. Hale Prepared in cooperation with the STATES OF ILLINOIS AND INDIANA Open-file report Washington, D. C., 1955 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR GEOLOGICAL SURVEY FLOODS OF OCTOBER 1954 IN THE CHICAGO AREA ILLINOIS AND INDIANA By Warren S. Daniels and Malcolm D. Hale Prepared in cooperation with the STATES OF ILLINOIS AND INDIANA Open-file report Washington, D. C., 1955 PREFACE This preliminary report on the floods of October 1954 in the Chicago area of Illinois and Indiana was prepared by the Water Resources Division, C. G. Paulsen, chief, under the general direction of J. V. B. Wells, chief, Surface Water Branch. Basic records of discharge in the area covered by this report were collected in cooperation with the Illinois De partment of Public Works and Buildings, Division of Waterways; the Indiana Flood Control and Water Resources Commission; and the Indiana Department of Conservation, Division of Water Re sources. The records of discharge were collected and computed under the direction of J. H. Morgan, district engineer, Champaign, 111.; and D. M. Corbett, district engineer, Indi anapolis, Ind. The data were computed and te^t prepared by the authors in the district offices in Illinois and Indiana. The report was assembled by the staff of the Technical Stand ards Section in Washington, D. C., Tate Dalrymple, chief. li CONTENTS Page Introduction............................................. 1 General description of floods............................ 1 Location.............................................. 1 Little Calumet River basin............................ 2 Kankakee River basin.................................. 5 Des Plaines River basin............................... 5 Chicago River basin................................... 6 Du Page and Pox River basins.......................... 8 Gaging-station records................................... 8 Explanation of data................................... 8 Hart ditch at Munster, Ind. .......................... 10 Thorn Creek at Glenwood, 111. ........................ 10 Deer Creek near Chicago Heights, 111. ................ 11 Butterfield Creek at Flossmoor, 111. ................. 11 Lansing ditch near Lansing, 111. ..................... 11 North Creek near Lansing, 111. ....................... 12 Thorn Creek at Thornton, 111. ........................ 12 Little Calumet River at South Holland, 111. .......... 13 Midlothian Creek at Oak Forest, 111. ................. 13 Wolf Lake at Chicago, 111. ........................... 13 Deep River at Lake George Outlet at Hobart, Ind. ..... 14 Burns ditch at Gary, Ind. ............................ 14 Little Calumet River at Porter, Ind. ................. 14 Salt Creek near McCool, Ind. ......................... 15 Kankakee River near North Liberty, Ind. .............. 15 Kaftkakee River at Davis, Ind. ........................ 16 Yellow River at Plymouth, Ind. ....................... 16 Yellow River at Knox, Ind. ........................... 16 Kankakee River at Dunns Bridge,. Ind. ................. 17 Kankakee River at Shelby, Ind. ....................... 17 Singleton ditch at Schneider, Ind. ................... 18 West Creek near Schneider, Ind. ...................... 18 Singleton ditch at Illinoi, 111. ..................... 18 Kankakee River at Momence, 111. ...................... 19 Kankakee River near Wilmington, 111. ................. 19 Des Plaines River near Gurnee, 111. .................. 19 Buffalo Creek near Wheeling, 111. .................... 20 Des Plaines River near Des Plaines, 111. ............. 20 McDonald Creek near Mt. Prospect, 111. ............... 21 Weller Creek at Des Plaines, 111. ................... 21 Willow Creek near Park Ridge, 111. ................... 21 Salt Creek near Arlington Heights, 111. .............. 22 Salt Creek at Western Springs, 111. .................. 22 Addison Creek at Bellwood, 111. ...................... 23 Des Plaines River at Riverside, 111. ................. 23 Flag Creek near Willow Springs, 111. ,................ 23 North Branch Chicago River at Deerfield, 111. ....... 24 Skokie River at Lake Forest, 111. .................... 24 iii CONTENTS Page Gaging-station records Continued West Fork of North Branch Chicago River at Northbrook, 111. ............................. 25 North Branch Chicago River at Niles, 111. ....... 25 Tiniey Creek near Palos Park, 111. .............. 25 Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal at Lockport, 111. 26 Long Run near Lemont, 111. ...................... 26 Hickory Creek at Joliet, 111. ................... 27 Du Page River at Troy, 111. ..................... 27 Mazon River near Coal City, 111. ................ 27 Illinois River at Marseilles, 111. .............. 28 Fox River at Algonquin, 111. .................... 28 Poplar Creek at Elgin, 111. ..................... 29 Fox River at Dayton, 111. ....................... 29 Summary of flood stages and discharges.............. 49 Flood frequency..................................... 57 ILLUSTRATIONS Page Figure 1. Map of flood area showing location of flood-determination points.................. 3 2. Map of Chicago area, Cook County, showing location of flood-determination points...... 4 3. Hydrographs for stations 2-5.................. 36 4. Hydrographs for stations 6-8, 10............... 37 5. Hydrographs for stations 11, 13-15............ 38 6. Hydrographs for stations 16-19................ 39 7. Hydrographs for stations 20, 21............... 40 8. Hydrographs for stations 22-24................ 41 9. Hydrographs for stations 25, 29-31............ 42 10. Hydrographs for stations 32-34................ 43 11. Hydrographs for stations 35-37 ................ 44 12. Hydrographs for stations 38-41................ 45 13. Hydrographs for stations 42, 44, 45........... 46 14. Hydrographs for station 46, 48, 49............ 47 15. Hydrographs for stations 51, 53, 54........... 48 16. Variation of unit discharge with drainage area 56 TABLES Page Table 1. Daily and monthly discharge, in cubic feet per second, and runoff, in inches, at gaging stations................................... 30 2. Summary of flood stages and discharges........ 50 iv FLOODS OF OCTOBER 1954 IN THE CHICAGO AREA ILLINOIS AND INDIANA INTRODUCTION The greatest flood in the history of Chicago resulted from heavy showers and thunderstorms during the period October 9-11, 1954. The 24-hour rainfall on October 9 andlOwas the greatest in 69 years, and the 48-hour total was the greatest in the 84-year record of the Chicago station. The storms and floods extended into Indiana where previous records were broken. At 24 gaging stations in the area peak discharges exceeded previously recorded maxima. Occurring in a region that is densely populated and highly industrialized, the floods caused unprecedented damage. Fortu nately casualties were few. No lives were lost through causes directly attributable to the floods, although a dozen or more persons were killed in accidents indirectly associated with the storms and floods. Data presented in this preliminary report include records of streamflow at 50 gaging stations and miscellaneous sites in Illi nois and Indiana. A comprehensive flood report, one of a series of water supply papers dealing with the floods of 1954, will be published at a later date. GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF FLOODS Location The area associated with floods discussed in this report is centered about Chicago, the Nation's second largest city, and the southern tip of Lake Michigan, including parts of northwestern Indiana and northeastern Illinois. It extends roughly 140 miles east and west, from South Bend and Plymouth, Ind., to Ottawa, 111., and about 90 miles north and south from the northern edge of Cook County (Chicago metropolitan area) to Kankakee, 111. Much of the region in each state is densely populated and highly industrial ized- The map of figure 1 covers the general area of flooding. There was a narrow belt of heavy rainfall and high runoff in Illinois which extended from Chicago to the Mississippi River in the vicinity of Rock Island, 111., and Muscatine, Iowa. West of the Fox River basin the floods were not severe and damage was comparatively small. This farther western area has, therefore, been considered outside,the scope of this report. The streams affected by the storm and flood include all those tributary to Lake Michigan in Illinois and Indiana, lying in a relatively narrow area along the lake shore, the headwaters of the Kankakee River in Indiana, the entire Des Plaines River basin, and the Du Page and Fox River basins, which are tributary to the 'Illinois River on the north side of the river. Figure 1 is a map of northeastern Illinois and northwestern Indiana showing flood-determination points. As there are 26 gag ing stations operated in Cook County, figure 2 has been drawn to show that area in greater detail. Little Calumet River Basin The Little Calumet River basin is very flat and storm drain age has long been recognized as a problem. Not only did the Little Calumet River go over its banks to flood extensive, areas, but inundation was severe along all the tributary streams in southern Cook County, Illinois. It was reported that every house in the village of Midlothian was surrounded with water, temporar ily marooning 4,400 families. The industrial city of Harvey, 22 miles south of Chicago, was almost completely inundated south of the Grand Trunk railway embankment,