April 28, 2025
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Final phase of Lake in the Hills’ Woods Creek restoration project up in air

Second phase, which began last year, is slated to wrap up in spring, officials said

By James T. Norman
Woods Creek in Lake in the Hills on Wednesday, May 4, 2022. Lake in the Hills approved a $1.3 million contract to continue its restoration of the creek.

File photo: Woods Creek in Lake in the Hills in May 2022. Lake in the Hills expects to wrap up work on the second phase of its Woods Creek stream bank restoration project in the spring, and is eyeing the start of the project's third and final phase. (Gregory Shaver - gshaver@shawmedia.com/Gregory Shaver for Shaw Media )

Lake in the Hills is in the early stages of beginning work on the third phase of its Woods Creek restoration project, but still has no timeline on when work could start, officials said.

Originally started in 2019, the Woods Creek restoration project is geared toward improving water quality and reducing the need to continuously remove sediment from Woods Creek Lake.

The Village Board at its meeting last Thursday approved a task order for the third phase, which means planning and designing of the project can begin, according to village documents.

However, the timeline for when the project will begin and end is still up in the air and will depend on what survey results of the area show, Superintendent of Streets Guy Fehrman said on Tuesday.

At a Committee of the Whole meeting on March 7, officials discussed the project briefly. Village President Ray Bogdanowski asked if any resident issues could come with the planned work.

“During [the second phase], we acknowledge that we could probably have done a better job as far as resident involvement and notification,” Bogdanowski said.

In May, the village began work on the second leg of the restoration, which, in addition to preserving water quality, ecology and potential recreation, aimed to limit the amount of sediment leaking into Woods Creek Lake.

The second phase is expected to wrap up this spring, Fehrman said. Work included stabilizing the stream bank, removing trees, and seeding native vegetation.

The first leg of the project began in 2019.

We acknowledge that we could probably have done a better job as far as resident involvement and notification.

—  Lake in the Hills Village President Ray Bogdanwoski

Fehrman said he can’t say at this point what kind of work the third phase will include as it will depend on the survey results.

The entire project covers an area that starts at Woods Creek Lake near Crystal Lake Road and goes west through Morningside Park. All told, restoration work will span more than 4,400 feet west of Randall Road, starting upstream and working downstream.

When last year’s phase began, officials with environment organizations in McHenry County noted the importance of such work, saying it was crucial for government agencies to get involved with preservation projects like this one due to the steep costs and lengthy time that come with them.

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