Carmel shifts from flood emergency to rebuilding
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Bridge and other infrastructure damage left behind by historic flooding in Carmel. Photo: Justin L. Mack/Axios
After historic flooding ripped apart roads, utilities and creek banks in Carmel, officials say the immediate emergency has passed, and the harder work of rebuilding is beginning.
Why it matters: The flood has dramatically reshaped the area around Hazel Dell Parkway and Blue Woods Creek, leaving officials to determine not simply how to repair damaged infrastructure, but whether some of it should be rebuilt differently this time around.
What they're saying: "The emergency is over essentially," Carmel city engineer Bradley Pease told reporters while walking the damaged site Thursday afternoon.
- "We're checking the elevation of these dams, keeping an eye on the river water levels … but we definitely are transitioning from 'emergency phase' to 'permanent fix' phase."
The latest: Crews are still monitoring and strengthening a network of temporary dams built to slow the water and prevent the rapidly eroding creek channel from reaching critical sewer lines.
- Street Department Commissioner Matt Higginbotham said crews initially were told there was essentially nothing they could do, but decided to try building a barrier with materials supplied by Martin Marietta anyway.
- "We're just trying to slow the flow," Higginbotham said. "If you slow the flow, you slow down the erosion." Crews worked through the night until they were able to span the channel and contain the rushing water.
Zoom in: One of Carmel's most pressing jobs is reconnecting a damaged 30-inch raw-water main so three high-producing municipal wells can return to service.
- "It's hot, it's dry. People use a lot of water in the summertime, so we need those back online," Carmel utilities director Lane Young said.
- Officials are also testing two exposed, roughly 50-year-old force mains that carry sewage to determine whether they were damaged — and whether it's time to replace or redesign them.
State of play: The Hazel Dell Parkway bridge remains closed and Hamilton County is leading plans for its replacement and the future of Blue Woods Creek.
- Young said recreating the creek's former bed could be impossible after the extent of the erosion. "We'll probably look at a different route of the creek, which will then determine ... what happens with the bridge," he said.
- The city hopes to reopen the 106th Street/Hazel Dell roundabout in "weeks, not months," although the damaged stretch of Hazel Dell could remain closed for roughly a year.
Between the lines: Another challenge is dealing with the more than 7 billion gallons of floodwater estimated to have entered the Martin Marietta quarry, and officials are working with state regulators on how to safely pump it out.
- Young said the water must be returned to the White River at a rate that protects water quality and doesn't "create its own erosive event."
What's next: Federal disaster assistance is now available as Carmel and other Central Indiana communities move deeper into recovery.
- But in Carmel, the central questions are increasingly about what gets rebuilt, and how.