RainReady Oak Park
In 2016 and 2017, the Village of Oak Park partnered with RainReady to help Oak Parkers manage rain at their homes. Here's what happened.
Grass And Concrete
Many urban yards look like this one – grass and concrete. When it rains, water runs off into sewers. When the sewer... more
Flood Survivor: Krystal Holmes
Until recently, Krystal Holmes thought that the constant flooding in the basement of her newly constructed Robbins home was due to an underground river or a well. “I can hear water flowing beneath my house from here,” Ms. Holmes says, from her upper story living room.
The... more
RainReady Receives CCBJ 2016 Business Achievement Award!
RainReady receved the CCBJ 2016 Business Achievement Award in the NGO category. They wrote: The RainReady program of the Center for Neighborhood Technology for catalyzing legislation and municipal action to prevent flood damage in Cook County, Ill., and for... more
Flood Survivor: Bob Evans
The Evans' moved into their Dolton home in 1985. Mr. and Mrs. Evans raised their children in this home. These days, the home is where they spoil their grandchildren. Until 2012, they had only flooded one time. That flood followed a particularly bad storm, and affected nearly everyone in... more
Flood Survivor: Peggy Scott
Peggy Scott and her son watched as water gushed like a fountain from her basement drains. She was sad, but unsurprised. When she first bought her home in 1994, no one told Ms. Scott about the flooding. Yet during every big storm since she first moved in, she finds water seeping... more
RainReady Home breaks ground
Cost-sharing for rain readiness
Famous for its architecture, including the world’s largest concentration of architecture designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and other progressive architects, Oak Park, IL is now also home to CNT/RainReady’s first cost-share initiative for rain... more
Flood Survivor: Lili Juskevice
When Lili Juskevice bought her two-story stucco home, she never imagined that she’d spend the next 14 years fighting sewage and seepage in her basement. But she has. At times, it’s gotten so bad that after she and her daughter mopped up the muck, they immediately got sick. Now that... more
ASCE's Game Changers Award
We are honored to share the news that RainReady Midlothian has been designated as one of 15 new Infrastructure Game Changers by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). The new Game Changers are “groundbreaking infrastructure projects that represent the latest trends in... more
RainReady earns praise of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District
The MWRD Board of Commissioners has honored CNT leaders and staff with a resolution at the August meeting following news that CNT's RainReady program had been recognized this summer with the Association of State Floodplain Managers' 2016 James Lee Witt Award for Excellence in... more
Flood Survivor: Catrina Farr
Catrina Farr is one of the lucky ones. Two years ago, the Calumet City resident was able to come up with the $6,900 needed to install an overhead sewer system at her home. She also paid to have her basement retarred around the exterior perimeter, a method some homeowners use to stop seepage.... more
RainReady at the White House!
RainReady at the White House!
I am delighted to be presenting RainReady at the White House Forum on Smart Finance for Disaster Resilience. The event is next week - August 3rd. The forum will discuss innovative finance options to help flood victims with pre-disaster mitigation. ... more
Flood Survivor: Arles Price
The worst part of the flooding isn’t the water itself but the stuff that comes up.
Used tampons. Urine. Dirty water likely intermixed with fecal material. And when the water finally recedes? The smell. And then? The mold.
The constant circular motions repeat themselves weekly... more
Is Your Downspout Causing Your Basement to Flood?
In our April newsletter, we offered tips for spring cleaning your gutters. Now that your gutters are clear and able to catch the rainwater from your roof, let’s talk about where this water is flowing. The gutters connect to downspouts that direct rainwater from the roof down the exterior... more
RainReady wins ASFPM Award for Excellence in Floodplain Management
RainReady is being awarded the Association of State Floodplain Managers (ASFPM) National 2016 James Lee Witt Local Award for Excellence in Floodplain Management, which is given annually to recognize outstanding programs or activities at the front lines of floodplain management.
The... more
Bringing Midlothian’s Resilience Model to Six South Suburban Neighbors
In January, the Village of Midlothian, located in Chicago’s southern suburbs, took the groundbreaking step of adopting the nation’s first RainReady Plan. Midlothian residents have faced chronic flooding for decades, even in moderately sized rainstorms. Our RainReady program’s... more
Stories of Flooding from Across the Nation
Flooding is the most expensive "natural" disaster faced by homeowners across America. Flooding costs communities billions of dollars every year according to damage payouts by insurance companies. Much of the damage can be avoided by smarter, greener infrastructure in our built... more
You Did it! FEMA to Study Urban Flooding
We have some incredible news! Thanks to your efforts, and the leadership of Representative Mike Quigley and Senator Dick Durbin, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has been asked to conduct a national study of urban flooding.
The Congressional directive is included in an... more
Flood Victims - The Trusted Voice on Urban Flooding
We are delighted to announce that the City of Chicago is supporting CNT’s education and outreach on rain readiness. Working alongside urban flooding victims themselves, we help people identify practical and affordable improvements to protect their property from urban flooding - approaches... more
The Suburb That's Reinventing Resilience
When Village of Midlothian residents reached out to CNT’s RainReady℠ program, they sought help with Natalie Creek, a small tributary to the Cal Sag Channel with a terrible history of flooding the surrounding neighborhood. As we began our work with Floodlothian Midlothian and Village Trustees... more
CNT’s RainReady Service to Help Chicago Flood Victims Recover from the 2013 Storm
The Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT®) has been contracted through the City of Chicago’s Residential Flood Assistance Program to provide streamlined flood damage repair and prevention for 70 homes victimized by the April 2013 flooding that crippled parts of Chicago’s south... more