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Chicago Resident Flooding + Sewage Survey
The Alliance for the Great Lakes and members of the Flooding and Sewage Coalition are working together to better understand the impact of heavy rain on residents and property owners in several Chicago communities to help identify solutions that will reduce or eliminate flooding. We are asking Chicago residents and businesses to complete this survey to tell us about any problems you are facing such as wet basements, sewer backups, flooding or foundation damage. Your answers to the survey questions are completely confidential and will be released only as summaries in which no individual answers can be identified. Please contact Bre'Shaun Reddick at floodingandsewage@greatlakes.org with any questions or concerns.
Completing the survey and sharing your contact information will enter you into a raffle to win a $25 gift card!
Section One: Your Property
*
1.
What is the property address? Please include the street address or cross-streets, and your zip code.
(Required.)
2.
Do you own the property?
Yes
No
3.
How many years have you owned or lived at this property?
Less than 1
1-5 years
5-10 years
More than 10
4.
Is the property:
Single-Family
Small Multifamily (2, 3, or 4 units)
Multifamily (5 or more units)
Nonprofit or house of worship
Public
Commercial
*
5.
Does the building have a basement or crawlspace?
(Required.)
Yes
No
Don’t know
6.
What type of basement or crawlspace is in the building?
Garden Apartment
Full Basement
Partial Basement
Crawlspace
Other
Section Two: The impact of rain on your property
*
7.
Thinking back over the last 5-6 years, when it rains, do you experience any problems on your property, such as a wet basement, water backing up through drains, seeping through walls, or yard flooding?
(Required.)
No, I experience none of these
Yes
*
8.
Over the last 5-6 years, when water enters my property it enters by: (Check all that apply)
(Required.)
Water or sewage backing up through drains (floor drains, bathtubs, sinks, etc.)
Seeping through the walls (water coming in through cracks, joints, etc.)
Entering through doors and/or windows
Pooling in the yard
Overflowing from the street, a creek, etc.
I don’t know
Other
*
9.
Over the last 5-6 years, how often has your property been affected?
(Required.)
Once
2-5 times
6-10 times
More than 10 times
*
10.
Over the last 5-6 years, when do you experience water entering your property (check all that apply)
(Required.)
Every time it rains
During heavy rain
Other (please specify)
*
11.
When water enters your property, are any living or dwelling spaces affected by water entering your property, such as a bedroom or kitchen?
(Required.)
Yes
No
*
12.
Has water entering your property caused any problems? (check all that apply)
(Required.)
Financial costs or time spent on repairs (tearing out and replacing flooring, walls, stairs, etc.)
Missed work
It did not impact me
Financial costs or time spent cleaning up
Health costs related to visits to the hospital, clinic, or outpatient facility
Missed school days
Financial costs or time spent related to getting rid of mold or mildew
Financial costs or time spent installing new systems (e.g. sump pumps, overhead sewers, backflow preventer, disconnecting downspouts)
Mental health costs related to stress
Other
Section Three: Preventing future problems on your property
*
13.
Over the last 5-6 years, have you taken action to prevent water entering your property in the future? This could include installing a rain garden, lengthening downspouts, reinforcing concrete, cleaning gutters and sewer drains, buying or reinstalling a sump pump, etc.
(Required.)
Yes
No
Others not listed (please specify)
*
14.
Which of these are barriers for you to act?
(Required.)
Solutions are too expensive
Afraid to ask for help or support due to fear of retaliation or displacement
Solutions would have to be done by the municipality on public property
Solutions would have to be done by a private owner that is not myself
I’m not sure what solutions would work
Other
*
15.
Over the last 5-6 years, have you sought assistance from the city or other government agency to help address or fix the problems you are experiencing with water entering your property?
(Required.)
Yes
No
16.
If you contacted the city or other government agency, please say more about who you reached out to and how it went.
*
17.
Over the last 5-6 years, have you sought assistance from neighbors, neighborhood groups and/or non-profit organizations to help address or fix the problems you are experiencing with water entering your property?
(Required.)
Yes
No
18.
If you did seek assistance from neighbors, neighborhood groups, and/or non-profit organizations, please tell us more about who you reached out to and how that went.
*
19.
Please describe in your own words what you observe when water is entering your property, what problems occur, and what you remember about how far back the problem goes to the best of your ability.
(Required.)
Section Four: The impact of rain on your neighborhood
*
20.
Please indicate whether the following conditions are true or false in your neighborhood:
(Required.)
True
False
Don’t know
When it rains, life in my neighborhood is negatively impacted
When it rains, runoff from my property affects my neighbor’s property
When it rains, runoff from neighboring properties affects my property
When it rains, the rain blocks access to my property or creates traffic hazards
When it rains, it creates traffic hazards in my neighborhood
21.
Please feel free to elaborate and tell us more about how rain events impacts your neighborhood.
Section Five: What actions can be taken?
*
22.
What do you think would help reduce or prevent flooding, basement backups, seepage, or water from entering your property? (Select all that apply)
(Required.)
Modifying yard landscaping (e.g., grading the yard away from the foundation, extending downspouts further away from house, installing rain gardens and/or french drains)
Installing green infrastructure (e.g., rain gardens, rain barrels, permeable pavement, planting native trees/deep rooted plants.
Property maintenance and improvements (e.g., installing/maintaining a sump pump, providing funds for industrial fans, gutter cleaning and downspouts, foundation reinforcement)
Other
*
23.
Are there specific actions that the City or other government agencies could be doing more of and/or differently?
(Required.)
Public education & communication (e.g., providing resources on how to protect homes from flooding, better emergency alerts during heavy rainfall events)
Upgrading & maintaining infrastructure (e.g., updating aging sewer systems, expanding stormwater storage basins, clearing municipal storm drains regularly)
Targeted assistance for heavily impacted areas (e.g., prioritizing infrastructure investments in neighborhoods experiencing the worst flooding)
Policy & zoning changes (e.g., stricter rules on new developments to prevent runoff, protecting local wetlands and natural floodplains)
Financial assistance & incentives (e.g., offering grants, rebates, or free programs for homeowners to install rain barrels, sump pumps, or backwater valves)
Other (please specify)
Section Six: Contact Information
By completing this questionnaire, you are providing permission for your responses to be used in our data collection efforts. All of the data we collect will be consolidated and used in reports that will be shared publicly. We will not share any of your personal information - your name, email, phone number, and address will remain private. We may contact you if we have follow-up questions regarding your questionnaire responses.
NOTE:
You must fill out this section to be able to receive the gift card if you win!
24.
May we contact you about potential strategies for managing rain in your neighborhood?
Yes
No
*
25.
Do you want to get regular updates from the Flooding and Sewage Coalition on our efforts, including invitations to future events, advocacy opportunities, educational materials, and other groups working on flooding and sewage in Chicago?
(Required.)
Yes
No
26.
Your Name
27.
Your Email
28.
Your Phone Number
29.
Would you like to see the results of this survey?
Yes
No
Thank You!
Thank you for taking the time to fill out this survey! If you were selected for the raffle, your gift card will be sent to you via email. Please learn more about the
Flooding and Sewage Coalition here!
