The City of Hickory Hills says something on its Storm Water Management page that most municipalities wouldn’t put on a public website. It says it plainly, without hedging:
“Our storm sewer system was built before so much of our community was covered in concrete. It wasn’t designed to carry this much water.”
And then, even more directly: “Despite ongoing investments in infrastructure, sewers, flood storage areas and other stormwater management structures, homeowners are still experiencing flood damage.”
And the reason: “Residential flooding can happen in our communities simply because there is nowhere else for the water to go.”
That is Hickory Hills’ own Public Works Department — the people responsible for maintaining the city’s underground infrastructure — telling residents, on the record, that the public sewer system is undersized, that ongoing public investment hasn’t stopped residential flooding, and that when it rains hard enough, there is simply nowhere for the water to go except into basements.
This kind of institutional honesty is unusual. It’s also genuinely useful, because it tells every Hickory Hills homeowner something important: the solution to your flooding problem is not waiting for the city to fix more pipes. The city is already investing in its infrastructure. Flooding is still happening. The gap between what public investment can accomplish and what actually keeps your basement dry is exactly the gap that private flood control fills.
This guide covers the private side of that gap — what’s driving flooding in Hickory Hills, what the Cook County funding programs can contribute, and what specific flood control solutions actually work for the mechanisms affecting homes in this southwest Cook County community.
The Southwest Cook County Flooding Context — Why Hickory Hills Is Part of a Regional Pattern
Hickory Hills doesn’t flood in isolation. The city’s stormwater management page makes this point specifically: “We all contribute to the flooding problems, because we all have roofs, driveways, patios and garages that cover the ground and cause stormwater runoff.” And: “In our communities in Southwest Cook County, the quality of our lives is inextricably tied to the nature around us.”
Southwest Cook County has been at the center of Cook County’s most significant flooding history. In 2013-2014, Cook County received $83,616,000 in federal CDBG-DR funding — Community Development Block Grant disaster recovery money — specifically in response to severe flooding in suburban Cook County. In 2025, Cook County was awarded additional CDBG-DR funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in response to severe storms that occurred in 2023 and 2024 — with the final action plan approved and published March 2026.
That’s two rounds of federal disaster recovery funding for Cook County flooding within a decade. The federal government has recognized that southwest Cook County flooding is a documented, recurring, federally significant problem. Hickory Hills sits squarely in that problem zone.
What the City’s Own Stormwater Plan Is Actually Doing
Hickory Hills has a formal Storm Water Management Plan — with annual reports filed through 2024 — that documents the city’s approach to what its own website calls a community-wide flooding challenge. The plan specifically advocates for a combination of what the city calls gray and green infrastructure:
Gray infrastructure — traditional engineered solutions like sewers, detention basins, and drainage structures. This is where the city’s public investment goes.
Green infrastructure — natural approaches that allow stormwater to soak into the ground: bioswales, rain gardens, permeable pavement, and native plantings that increase infiltration and reduce the volume of runoff entering the pipe system in the first place.
The city’s explicit acknowledgment that gray infrastructure alone — pipes, sewers, detention basins — isn’t solving the problem is what makes Hickory Hills’ stormwater plan unusual and honest. They’re not promising that more pipe will fix it. They’re saying that the ground needs to absorb more water, and that individual property owners are part of that solution.
That framing directly supports the private flood control conversation: what you install on your property is the private-side complement to what the city is doing with its public infrastructure. Together they work. Neither works alone in a community the city acknowledges has nowhere else for the water to go.
What Hickory Hills’ Own Plumbing Code Requires
Most homeowners have never read their municipality’s plumbing code. Hickory Hills has one — Chapter 26 of the City’s Municipal Code — with specific provisions that affect every plumbing and flood control installation in the city.
Violation penalties: Section 108.4 of the Hickory Hills Plumbing Code establishes a penalty of $100 to $750 for each violation. This isn’t theoretical enforcement — it’s a real penalty range established in the municipal code.
Sewer jetting specifically required: The code requires that flushing of sanitary sewers with potable water be performed through the use of a high-velocity type sewer jet. This is the code-level confirmation that hydro jetting — not standard rodding with water — is the appropriate method for sanitary sewer cleaning work in Hickory Hills.
Licensure required for all plumbing work: The code is specific — no person shall contract for plumbing work and no person shall do plumbing work in the City of Hickory Hills unless properly licensed. This matters when evaluating any contractor who approaches you after a flooding event. A contractor performing plumbing work in Hickory Hills without proper Illinois licensure is operating in violation of the city’s own code.
Verifying a plumber’s license in Illinois is straightforward — licensed plumbers are registered through the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), not IDFPR. Search by name or license number on IDPH’s public verification tool. Our Illinois Plumbing License #055-044116 is active and searchable.
The Cook County Sewer Backup Prevention Program — The Funding Most Hickory Hills Homeowners Haven’t Claimed
Before any Hickory Hills homeowner signs a flood control installation contract, Cook County’s active Sewer Backup Prevention Program deserves a phone call:
Eligible homeowners can receive 50% reimbursement for the cost of installing backflow prevention devices (up to $3,000) or overhead sewer systems (up to $5,000), with a one-time grant cap of $5,000 per property. Permit fees are waived for any work covered by the program.
Cook County funded this initiative with $325,000 from its American Rescue Plan Act funds as part of a $20 million stormwater management effort. Combined with the 2025 CDBG-DR federal funding approved for suburban Cook County, there are active public dollars specifically available to help Hickory Hills homeowners install the private flood control that the city’s own stormwater plan says is part of the solution.
Contact Cook County about current program availability and eligibility before authorizing any flood control work. Permit fees being waived is a real cost reduction — don’t skip this call.
The Three Flooding Mechanisms in Hickory Hills
Getting the diagnosis right before any installation is the step that prevents spending $3,000 to $15,000 on a system that doesn’t address your actual flooding mechanism. Hickory Hills homeowners consistently encounter three distinct scenarios:
Mechanism 1: Combined Sewer Surcharge Backup
Hickory Hills is served by Cook County’s combined sewer infrastructure — stormwater and sanitary waste share the same underground pipes. During significant rain events, those mains surcharge — pressure reverses through residential laterals and sewage-odored water enters basements through floor drains.
The diagnostic question: Does the water smell like sewage? If yes — this is your mechanism. A backwater valve or overhead sewer conversion stops it. A sump pump does not. A French drain does not. Any contractor who installs a sump pump in response to sewage-odored floor drain backup is installing the correct equipment for the wrong problem.
The backwater valve solution: A one-way check valve installed in the main sewer lateral physically prevents combined sewer pressure from entering the home’s drain system during a surcharge event. Our sewer backflow prevention services cover backwater valve installation throughout Hickory Hills with all required city permits included. Cook County’s program covers up to $3,000 of the installation cost — apply before signing.
The overhead sewer solution: For homeowners who have experienced repeated severe surcharge events, or who have finished basements where any flooding represents a major financial and habitability loss, an overhead sewer conversion permanently eliminates the below-grade connection to the combined sewer. Backup becomes physically impossible regardless of storm intensity or valve condition. Our overhead sewer services cover the full conversion in Hickory Hills with all required permits. Cook County covers up to $5,000 of qualifying overhead sewer installations.
Mechanism 2: Groundwater Intrusion
Odorless water entering through the floor slab, wall-floor joint, or sump pit during or after sustained rain. The water table rises in Cook County’s clay-heavy soil and pushes upward against the foundation.
The sump pump solution: A properly sized, properly functioning sump pump with battery backup is the primary defense. Hickory Hills homes from the 1960s and 1970s may have original sump pumps approaching or past their service life. An aging pump without battery backup fails during the exact storm event that tests it most — the one that also knocks out power. Our sump pump services cover installation, battery backup addition, and 24/7 emergency replacement throughout Hickory Hills.
Mechanism 3: Surface Drainage Failure
Yard pooling, surface water accumulating against the foundation, downspout discharge directed toward the house rather than away from it. This is the green infrastructure component the city’s stormwater plan specifically mentions — property-level changes that help stormwater soak into the ground rather than run directly into overwhelmed pipes.
For Hickory Hills homeowners whose flooding is surface-water-driven, our French drain installation service addresses this mechanism — intercepting surface runoff before it reaches the foundation and routing it to a lower-resistance discharge point.
Drain Cleaning in Hickory Hills’ 1960s-1970s Housing Stock
Hickory Hills was incorporated in 1951 and developed primarily through the 1960s and 1970s. Cast iron kitchen drain lines in homes from this era are now 50 to 65 years old — running Cook County’s Lake Michigan water at 130 to 150 parts per million of dissolved minerals continuously for decades, building the calcium-reinforced grease matrix that Hickory Hills homeowners know as the drain that gets rodded every few months and backs up again anyway.
The city’s own plumbing code confirms that high-velocity sewer jetting is the appropriate sanitary sewer cleaning method. That same approach — hot water hydro jetting at 2,500 to 4,000 PSI — is what actually removes the wall deposits that standard rodding only temporarily compresses. Annual hot water hydro jetting for pre-1980 Hickory Hills homes breaks the recurring rodding cycle permanently rather than managing it indefinitely. Our drain cleaning services include hot water hydro jetting throughout Hickory Hills with same-day scheduling.
What Our Team Has Done in Hickory Hills
Our service history in Hickory Hills reflects exactly the flooding and drain conditions this guide describes — sewer camera inspections revealing lateral conditions in older housing stock, drain cleaning work on cast iron lines, and flood control assessments for homeowners dealing with the combined sewer surcharge backup that the city’s own website acknowledges is an ongoing problem despite infrastructure investment.
For the full range of plumbing, sewer, and flood control services we provide in Hickory Hills, see our Hickory Hills plumber page.
What Hickory Hills Homeowners Should Do Right Now
Contact Cook County about the Sewer Backup Prevention Program before signing any flood control contract. Up to $5,000, permit fees waived. This is the first call.
Diagnose your flooding type before anyone installs anything. Does it smell like sewage during rain events? Combined sewer surcharge — backwater valve or overhead sewer. No odor? Groundwater — sump pump. Surface pooling in the yard? French drain. Getting this wrong costs real money.
If your sump pump is more than 7 years old: Assessment before the next storm season. Battery backup if not present.
If your kitchen drain has been rodded more than twice in 18 months: Switch to hot water hydro jetting. The city’s own code calls for high-velocity jetting for sanitary sewer work. The same approach breaks the residential rodding cycle.
If you’ve never had a sewer camera inspection on a pre-1980 home: Schedule one. Our sewer camera inspection service is available throughout Hickory Hills with same-day scheduling.
Verify any contractor’s Illinois plumbing license before authorizing work. Hickory Hills’ municipal code requires licensure for all plumbing work performed in the city.
Frequently Asked Questions: Flood Control in Hickory Hills
The city keeps investing in storm sewers. Will that eventually stop my basement from flooding?
The city’s own stormwater management page answers this better than we could: despite ongoing investments in infrastructure, sewers, and flood storage areas, homeowners are still experiencing flood damage. Public investment reduces the frequency and severity of peak flooding events — it doesn’t eliminate them, and it installs nothing in your home. The private-side flood control that keeps your specific basement dry is something public infrastructure spending cannot provide.
Bubba, Wayne and Tim advertise flood control in Hickory Hills. What makes you different?
A landing page that lists “flood control services” in Hickory Hills alongside dozens of other suburbs isn’t Hickory Hills-specific knowledge. This guide is built on the city’s own stormwater management plan, Hickory Hills’ municipal plumbing code Chapter 26, Cook County’s specific grant programs, and the actual diagnostic framework that distinguishes the three flooding mechanisms common in this community. That knowledge — and the honest diagnosis that goes with it — is what makes the difference between a correct installation that solves the problem and an installation that doesn’t match the mechanism causing the flooding.
My neighbor got a backwater valve installed and still flooded after the last big storm. Do they actually work?
A properly installed backwater valve stops combined sewer surcharge backup — the specific mechanism it’s designed for. If your neighbor flooded after installation, one of three things happened: the flooding was from a different mechanism (groundwater or surface drainage) that the valve doesn’t address, the valve experienced a maintenance or mechanical issue, or the storm produced flooding through a pathway — like a window well, above-grade opening, or the lateral itself — that the valve doesn’t protect. Diagnosis of what specifically happened is more useful than a general conclusion that valves don’t work.
Flooding in Hickory Hills? Let’s Find the Right Fix — Not Just the Nearest One.
Licensed, insured, and serving Hickory Hills since 1978. We install backwater valves, overhead sewers, sump pumps with battery backup, and French drains throughout Hickory Hills — starting with the diagnosis that confirms which flooding type you actually have before recommending anything. We pull all required city permits, verify discharge compliance, and put our own licensed plumbers on every call. Send us a message and we’ll get back to you fast.
Or call us directly: 708-801-6530 | Open 24/7
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Suburban Plumbing Sewer Line & Drain Cleaning Experts
Licensed & Insured | Open 24 Hours | Serving Hickory Hills & Cook County Since 1978
📞 Suburbs: 708-801-6530 | 🚨 Emergency: 708-518-7765
