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<br /> <br />This one-story rancher is located 10 feet away from St. <br />Joseph's Creek in Downers Grove, Illinois. The structure was <br />built in 1974 and complies with a village ordinance that existed <br />at the time, requiring houses to be built 3 feet above the 100-year <br />flood level. The house is constructed on an uphill slope which <br />rises away from the creek. It is elevated about 10 feet above <br />ground level on twelve l-foot-thick poured concrete pillars <br />(Figure A9). Each pillar rests upon a 4- by 4-foot poured <br />concrete slab 2 feet thick. The garage is also raised on six pillars. <br />As constructed, floodwaters are allowed to flow freely. Cost of <br />flood proofing was not disclosed; however, the contractor <br />indicated that it was less expensive to raise the house than it <br />would have been to build a full basement. <br /> <br />The area was last flooded in spring 1979. At that time, <br />floodwaters rose to the lowest step of the stairs leading to the <br />raised deck. This was estimated to be a 10-year flood event. <br /> <br /> <br />One-story dwelling <br />raised on concrete <br />pillars, Downers Grove, <br />Illinois <br /> <br /> <br />Figure A9. One-story dwelling raised on concrete pillars <br /> <br />27 <br />