The Complete Guide for Westmont Homeowners Who Want to Understand What Their Village Did — and What Only They Can Do for Themselves
In April 2013, Westmont flooded. Not an ordinary rain event — a devastating flood that affected enough homes and properties to fundamentally change how the village thought about stormwater management. The response from Westmont’s government and its residents was one of the most proactive we’ve documented for any Chicago-area suburb: the village created the Community Stormwater Committee specifically to review options for addressing growing problems and concerns, and in 2015, Westmont voters approved the Westmont Stormwater-Infrastructure Sales Tax Referendum — a 0.5% sales tax on local purchases that generates revenue specifically targeted for stormwater and infrastructure improvements.
Read that again: Westmont residents voted to tax themselves. Not a bond measure approved by elected officials, not a fee imposed by the village board — a voter-approved sales tax that the community chose specifically because the 2013 flooding experience made clear that stormwater infrastructure needed sustained, dedicated investment.
As the Village of Westmont’s Stormwater Management page documents, the village’s response since 2013 has included completing a new emergency lift station at 39th and Adams with DuPage County, extending the storm sewer system in the 300 Block of Naperville-Warwick, and publishing a comprehensive Stormwater Management Program Plan in 2018 that covers best management practices to prevent pollution from entering the storm sewer system.
This community investment is meaningful and ongoing. But every Westmont homeowner needs to understand the distinction that defines every flood control conversation in this village: the 0.5% sales tax funds public infrastructure improvements. The private sewer lateral from your home to the main, the sump pump system in your basement, and the drainage configurations on your private property remain your responsibility — the same year after year, regardless of how much the village invests in the public system.
What the 2013 Flood Revealed — and Why It Still Matters for Private Homeowners
The April 2013 flooding event that prompted Westmont’s Community Stormwater Committee wasn’t the last significant flood event in DuPage County’s western suburbs. It was the catalytic event that revealed the gap between what the public stormwater infrastructure was designed to handle and what actual storm intensity was producing. That gap — between designed capacity and actual demand — is the same gap that affects private drainage systems alongside public ones.
All DuPage County residents live in a watershed, meaning most everything entering storm drains eventually runs into rivers or streams. In Westmont’s watershed context, stormwater that can’t be managed at the property level becomes stormwater loading on the public system. The village’s sales tax-funded public improvements reduce the flooding risk for everyone — but private property drainage systems that don’t function correctly add to the load that the public system manages, and private sump systems that fail during peak events produce basement flooding that the public system improvements can’t prevent.
The homeowner who maintains a properly functioning sump pump with battery backup, who keeps surface drainage directed away from the foundation, and who maintains their private sewer lateral in sound condition is the homeowner who benefits most from Westmont’s public infrastructure investments — because their private system is as sound as the public system it connects to.
Westmont’s Sewer System — The Downers Grove Sanitary District Connection
Westmont is served by the Downers Grove Sanitary District as one of two wastewater treatment centers. This is a separate sanitary sewer system — stormwater and household waste run in completely separate underground pipes. The Village of Westmont works with DuPage County to provide information regarding stormwater management, and the completed emergency lift station at 39th and Adams reflects the active partnership between the village and DuPage County in maintaining the sewer collection infrastructure.
For Westmont homeowners, the separate sewer system means the combined sewer surcharge backup mechanism — the primary flooding driver in Chicago and Cook County combined sewer neighborhoods — is largely absent here. When a Westmont basement floods or a floor drain backs up, the cause is almost always one of two things: groundwater intrusion from a rising water table in DuPage County’s clay-heavy soil, or a condition within the private sewer lateral itself.
This is actually good news for diagnosis. The question of what’s causing your flooding in Westmont is almost always answerable within the private property — it doesn’t require navigating the complex public infrastructure capacity questions that affect Chicago’s combined sewer communities.
The DuPage County Flood Control Partnership — What It Covers and What It Doesn’t
The DuPage County Stormwater Management flood control facilities represent a regional network of flood control infrastructure that benefits Westmont among other DuPage County communities. The Elmhurst Quarry — a 2.7 billion gallon floodwater capacity facility and the largest of DuPage County’s 17 flood control facilities — protects the watershed corridor that includes Westmont through a 400-foot tunnel beneath Illinois Route 83. When major storm events fill downstream waterways, the Quarry accepts floodwater that would otherwise flood residential properties.
The DuPage County Stormwater Management team utilizes a predetermined operating plan to manage floodwater entering the Quarry through a 400-foot tunnel beneath Illinois Route 83. This sophisticated regional infrastructure works in concert with Westmont’s sales tax-funded local improvements to reduce the frequency and severity of the flooding conditions that 2013 made urgent.
What the regional infrastructure doesn’t address: the private drainage systems of individual homes. A sump pump that’s past its service life in a Westmont home fails during the same major storm event that the Elmhurst Quarry is actively managing. The regional system doing its job is no substitute for the private sump system doing its job simultaneously.
The Three Flooding Types in Westmont — What Each Requires
Type 1: Groundwater Intrusion — The Most Common Westmont Flooding Mechanism
DuPage County’s clay-heavy glacial soil creates the same groundwater pressure conditions that affect every community in the western Chicago suburban corridor. The water table rises significantly during sustained rain events — particularly in the post-2013 storm environment that Westmont’s stormwater committee was specifically created to address — and pushes upward against basement foundations throughout the village.
The diagnostic signature: Water entering without sewage odor. Gradual entry during or after sustained rain. Appears through the floor slab, wall-floor joint, or sump pit. The sump pump activates or should be activating.
What works: A properly functioning sump pump with battery backup. Most Westmont homes were built with sump pits specifically because DuPage County’s groundwater conditions require active management. Our team has documented a sump pump replacement in Westmont — specifically replacing the primary pump with a new Champion pump and re-routing the discharge for optimal performance. This is exactly the service that converts an aging, undersized, or failing sump system into one that handles Westmont’s groundwater demands.
Battery backup is non-negotiable. The storms that triggered the 2013 flooding and those that have followed are the same storms most likely to knock out power. A Westmont sump pump without battery backup fails during the worst flooding conditions available.
Our sump pump services cover Westmont with same-day and 24/7 emergency response.
Type 2: Surface Drainage Failure
For Westmont properties where surface water accumulates on flat DuPage County lots — where yards pool after rain events because the surface drainage doesn’t move water away from the foundation efficiently — a French drain intercepts that surface water before it can saturate the soil against the foundation.
Westmont’s stormwater program plan specifically addresses the importance of directing stormwater away from structures through proper grading and drainage management. Homeowner improvements — raised planting beds, grade changes, fences across drainage paths — are among the most common causes of surface drainage failure on individual lots throughout DuPage County communities.
Our French drain installation service addresses Westmont’s clay soil conditions with appropriate design for flat DuPage County lots.
Type 3: Sewer Lateral Backup
For Westmont homes where basement water has sewage odor or backs up specifically through the floor drain during normal household use rather than during rain events — the cause is within the private sewer lateral itself. Root intrusion at joint gaps in aging clay tile laterals, structural failures, or pipe belly from clay soil settlement are the conditions that drive lateral backup independent of the public sewer system’s condition.
Our team has documented a flood control vault installation in Westmont specifically for below-grade plumbing management — the kind of comprehensive below-grade solution that addresses both the sewer backup and the ejector pump requirements of a Westmont finished basement simultaneously.
Our sewer camera inspection service confirms the specific lateral condition before any service recommendation is made. Our sewer backflow prevention services include backwater valve installation for Westmont homes where sewer backup conditions warrant it.
The Westmont Plumber Page — Your Complete Local Service Resource
For the full range of plumbing services available in Westmont — from sump pump replacement to drain cleaning to water heater service — our Westmont plumber page covers every service we provide in this DuPage County community with same-day scheduling available.
Our documented Westmont service history includes sump pump replacement with re-routed discharge, laundry tub replacement and laundry drain clearing, water heater replacement, and flood control vault installation. We’re a short drive from Westmont — the same contractor that Westmont homeowners have called since 1978.
What Westmont Homeowners Should Do Right Now
If your home flooded in 2013 or any subsequent event and you haven’t made private-side changes: The village’s sales tax-funded public improvements have been ongoing since 2015. The private-side component — your sump pump, your lateral, your surface drainage — is still where it was when you flooded.
If your sump pump is more than 7 years old: Assessment and likely replacement before next storm season. Re-route the discharge if it’s not optimally positioned — our Westmont job story shows this makes a meaningful difference in pump performance.
If your home is pre-1980 with original clay tile lateral: Schedule a sewer camera inspection. The Downers Grove Sanitary District serves Westmont’s public mains — the private lateral connecting to that system is your maintenance obligation.
If your basement has a finished space with below-grade fixtures: Confirm ejector pump condition and age. A failed ejector pump in a finished Westmont basement is a sewage backup into living space.
Before any landscaping or grade work: Confirm that proposed changes don’t redirect surface drainage toward the foundation or block drainage paths. Westmont’s stormwater management plan specifically identifies homeowner improvements as contributors to surface drainage failures.
Frequently Asked Questions: Flood Control in Westmont
The village’s sales tax funds stormwater improvements. Will those improvements prevent my basement from flooding? The sales tax-funded improvements — storm sewer extensions, detention facility upgrades, partnership projects with DuPage County — reduce the frequency and severity of flooding conditions throughout the village. They don’t replace private sump systems, repair private sewer laterals, or install flood control devices in individual homes. A Westmont home with an aging sump pump benefits from improved public infrastructure — but only if the sump pump is working when the storm hits. Both sides of the equation matter.
How is Westmont’s flooding situation different from Downers Grove? Both are DuPage County communities with separate sewer systems served by the Downers Grove Sanitary District. Both have similar groundwater conditions and clay soil. The key difference is history and program: Westmont’s experience centered on the 2013 flood event and resulted in a voter-approved dedicated sales tax. Downers Grove’s CRS Class 5 rating, Bioswale Program, and Cost Share program reflect a different but equally proactive approach. For the complete Downers Grove flood control picture, see our complete Downers Grove basement flooding guide.
My Westmont home has a laundry drain that keeps backing up. Is this connected to the sewer lateral or is it a separate problem? A laundry drain backup can originate from the laundry line itself — accumulated lint, detergent residue, and debris in the branch line — or from the main lateral if the backup is systemic. Our documented Westmont service includes clearing a clogged laundry line alongside a laundry tub replacement — exactly the combination that addresses both the fixture and the drain line in a single service call. A camera inspection of the main lateral confirms whether the backup is isolated to the laundry branch or reflects a broader lateral condition.
Need Flood Control or Plumbing Service in Westmont? We’ve Been Here Since Before the 2013 Flood.
Licensed, insured, and serving Westmont since 1978. We’ve replaced sump pumps, installed flood control vaults, cleared laundry drains, replaced water heaters, and performed commercial hydro jetting throughout Westmont. We know this community’s housing stock and its flooding conditions. Written quotes before we start, permits on every job, our own licensed plumbers on every call. Send us a message and we’ll get back to you fast.
Or call us directly: 630-749-9057 | Open 24/7
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Suburban Plumbing Sewer Line & Drain Cleaning Experts
Licensed & Insured | Open 24 Hours | Serving Westmont & DuPage County Since 1978
📞 Westmont: 630-749-9057 | 🚨 Emergency: 708-518-7765
