Erosion in Lake in the Hills prompts lake seawall construction

Crews could be heard working Tuesday from the shores of Woods Creek Lake in Lake in the Hills.

Construction started this week on a seawall on the lakeshore near Indian Trail Beach to address shoreline erosion. It’s the first time the Lake in the Hills Sanitary District has installed such a wall, officials said.

The seawall will be 425 feet long and cover the lake frontage of six residences, according to the Lake in the Hills Sanitary District website. It’s intended to protect district infrastructure near the lake.

The sanitary district had installed sewer infrastructure in the 1960s but, “the shore has eroded,” Tamara Mueller, the district manager, said. In describing the amount of erosion that has occurred over the decades, Mueller said there’s a manhole in the area that, when installed, was 15 feet from the shoreline but now is sitting in the lake.

“In order to protect the infrastructure, we need to do something,” Mueller said.

Construction kicked off this week and it shouldn’t take more than a month for work to wrap up, Mueller said.

Mueller said the district had started getting quotes for the seawall in April 2023, but had to get permits from the Army Corps of Engineers and the village, among others.

Mueller expects the seawall to last between 20 and 50 years, depending on how caustic the water is.

She said residents in the area have been “fairly receptive” to the project, but were worried about costs and impacts to property. The seawall is being paid for by the sanitary district.

The sanitary district approved a payment for $37,200 for the wall last month and will have a final payment of $60,000, according to documents.