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Carmel officials are warning that the ongoing consequences of historic flooding could cause the White River to be redirected to a quarry on the southeast side of the city, potentially damaging infrastructure that would lead to the discharge of raw sewage into the water.
Already the quarry has been filled with billions of gallons of water, which officials say helped dilute the impact of flooding downstream in Indy. There was a 70-75% chance of the river being diverted and causing the sewage discharge, Carmel city engineer Bradley Pease said at a Carmel City Council meeting on the evening of Aug. 17.
“We don’t want to frighten anybody or concern anybody, we just want people to be aware that we are watching this and trying to measure the effects of this and want to make sure we are speaking openly about it,” Carmel Mayor Sue Finkam said during the city council meeting.
The city and Hamilton County are already tasked with repairing a bridge on Hazel Dell Parkway south of 106th Street that was washed out by the flood waters. The bridge is expected to cost around $10 million and take at least two years to replace.
The bridge allowed motorists to cross the Blue Woods Creek. Now floodwaters are rushing from the creek into a nearby quarry and have eroded a new channel that’s flowing closer and closer to the White River, Finkam explained.
That new channel is deeper than the existing White River in that area. This means the river would divert from the existing riverbed, if the new channel reaches it. That would cause the river to flow into the quarry.
“For a brief period, all flow or a significant portion of the flow could divert totally into the quarry so that south of there, there would be no water in the White River,” Pease said. “We’ve been in contact with all partners to the south who would be affected by the fact that the White River doesn’t have water. Those water departments or other agencies would be prepared to react if that becomes a reality.”
Then, it would take two to six hours for the quarry to fill, and the water would flow back into the original riverbed and begin moving south once again, officials said. But the water would be expected to move from the quarry back to the riverbed across city-owned land, where there’s an underground wastewater force main that carries sewage.
That force main could be damaged during the redirection of all this water, causing the discharge of sewage.
It’s still possible the new channel never reaches the White River, and none of the harmful consequences will be felt, but Carmel officials are letting the public and other communities know that they are monitoring the situation closely. Carmel is being transparent about the situation, Finkam said.
An update from the city on the morning of Aug. 18 was positive.
“After days of severe erosion, crews are currently successfully holding off further channel cutting by temporarily stabilizing the banks to redirect fast-moving water [in the White River and Blue Woods Creek area,]” reads a post on X, formerly Twitter, from the City of Carmel.
The mayor noted that the city’s drinking water remains safe and that the wastewater system is still working. Officials also said that homes near the quarry are safe and are not at risk of being impacted by floodwater or erosion.
Finkam added that the quarry prevented additional flooding downstream.
“It’s an incredible bathtub that mother nature created as a stormwater detention because that 7 billion gallons (of water) didn’t go downstream to Indianapolis and further increase the flooding that happened downstream,” Finkam said.
The White River crested in Hamilton County at approximately 24.60 feet around 3:30 a.m. on Aug. 15, breaking a record set more than 100 years ago, according to the county. The unprecedentedly high floodwaters and accompanying storms have killed at least seven people across the state and led to multiple water rescues throughout Central Indiana.
Contact Jake Allen at jake.allen@indystar.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @Jake_Allen19. Click here to get Hamilton County news sent straight to your inbox and subscribe to the IndyStar North newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: White River could divert to quarry, causing sewage discharge in Carmel
Reporting by Jake Allen, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Jake Allen, Indianapolis Star | USA TODAY Network
