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The Town that Flood-Proofed Itself

Ottawa, Illinois learned how to keep its residents out of harm’s way. But on the river’s edge, safety has often required sacrifice. Climate change and upstream development made the riverfront town of Ottawa, Illinois even more prone to flooding.Unlike many communities nationwide, it has successfully neutralized the threat by steering development out of floodplains.The town

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You can submerge Ottawa — on your computer, that is

Charles Stanley, [email protected], 815-431-4063 | Mar 16, 2016 Ottawans who want to watch their town get flooded now can do so from their home computers — with no real damage involved. A computer simulation of flooding by the Fox and Illinois rivers that can be controlled by the viewer has been launched by the National

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REZIN: Flood alliance helps keep us dry

Published in the Times July 20, 2017 To the Editor:Illinois is seeing firsthand the havoc flooding creates for people in Northern Illinois. Four counties have been declared disaster areas as the Fox River, Des Plaines River, Chain of Lakes and other waterways have wiped out property and infrastructure. The state of Illinois has the largest

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Generator location offers Ottawa high level of savings

Sometimes stubbornness really pays off. For Ottawa, the savings was millions of dollars, according to Ron Davis, the Illinois Emergency Management Agency’s state hazard mitigation officer. “I’m the SHMO,” Davis likes to joke. The stubbornness was on the part of Ottawa Building Official Mike Sutfin, and it took place years ago when a backup generator

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