08/18/2026
PSA for our Carmel, Indiana friends & neighbors. Plus just good info for all of us.
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Tonight, Mayor Sue Finkam and her team gave the Council a long, detailed briefing on where we stand with the flooding, and I want to pass as much of it along to you as I can. This is a lot of information, but I would rather over-share than have anyone guessing.
Thank you to Mayor Finkam for your leadership!
FIRST AND MOST IMPORTANT: THE QUARRY AND YOUR WATER
Our drinking water is safe. Our wastewater system is working. There has been no breach of our water supply, no boil advisory, and no interruption to service for our residents.
Here is what is happening at the quarry, and why you are hearing so much about it.
When the river came up, the bank was breached near Blue Woods Creek and water began pouring into the Martin Marietta quarry. That created an enormously erosive suction event. The creek bed there has dropped roughly 15 feet and the channel has been eating its way eastward toward the White River, moving about 200 feet in a single day.
— The quarry is now holding somewhere around 9 billion gallons. For perspective, that is about 16,000 Olympic swimming pools.
— There is a real silver lining here. That is 9 billion gallons that did not continue downstream toward Indianapolis and make the flooding there worse. Our city engineer wants to look at whether that basin can be formally used for stormwater detention going forward.
— The concern is what happens if that new channel connects all the way to the White River. The channel bed is now about 9 feet lower than the river itself, which means the river would take the lower path. For a period of time, the White River could stop flowing south of that point and run into the quarry instead.
— If that happens, officials expect the quarry to equalize in roughly 2 to 6 hours, and then the water returns to the riverbed and flows east again as it always has.
— The city has been in contact with every water utility and agency downstream so they are ready if the river runs low for a few hours.
— There is a second, separate risk. A large wastewater force main runs through that area. If the erosion reaches it before the river drops, it could be damaged and release sewage into that channel. That flow would go into the quarry, not into your home and not into our drinking water.
The odds are moving in our favor. At the press conference this afternoon, our city engineers put the chance of the channel connecting to the river at about 85 percent. During the meeting tonight, updated field measurements brought that down to 70 to 75 percent. The erosion has slowed significantly over the last several hours. The next 12 hours will tell us a great deal.
Two more things on safety: Martin Marietta brought in a mining safety engineer and has confirmed there are no structural concerns with their underground mines and no indication of anything leaching into our wells. And please, do not go anywhere near the water. Do not kayak the White River. If you are on that water and the channel opens, you will be pulled into the quarry, and you will not survive it.
HOMES NEAR THE QUARRY ARE SAFE
Even in the worst case scenario, homes to the north of the quarry are not expected to be at risk. The river level has dropped enough that the water is not going to reach the edges of the quarry near those homes. The quarry will contain it. The new low point is over at Hazel Dell, which is the path the water came in on, and that is the way it will go back out once things equalize.
THE HAZEL DELL BRIDGE
Hamilton County Commissioner Christine Altman came to the meeting to walk us through this, and I appreciate her being there.
What happened: Blue Woods Creek is a regulated drain, and when it reversed course, the sheer velocity of the water scoured out everything underneath the bridge. There was some early hope it could be repaired. The water did not recede in time and the pressure was too much. The bridge is technically still standing, but there is nothing supporting it. It may end up in the quarry.
— This is a full replacement, not a repair.
— Because the span is longer than 20 feet, the bridge is a county asset and the county's responsibility. Hazel Dell Parkway itself stays under city jurisdiction. Blue Woods Creek will also have to be reconstructed.
— Estimated cost is between $7 million and $10 million.
— Timeline: Realistically we are looking at up to two years, if not longer. Design, permitting in a regulated waterway, materials, and contracting all take time. The county spent today evaluating procurement methods and engineering firms to move as fast as they possibly can.
— In the meantime, Keystone is the main alternate, and Gray Road is going to carry a lot of additional traffic
DO NOT CROSS THE BARRICADES.
The Hazel Dell roundabout is now closed. You cannot get to that area from 106th and Gray, from 96th and Hazel Dell, or from 116th. Barricades have been pulled back farther than they were, on purpose.
Our traffic cameras have shown a significant number of people crossing barriers, and crews have been chasing people out of that area for three and a half days. Here is why that terrifies me. The pavement out there looks completely solid. There is nothing underneath it. It is undercut. You can walk right up to the edge and the ground can go out from under you.
City employees are not going out there tomorrow morning without checking the cameras first. That is how dangerous our own engineers consider it. If trained safety personnel are approaching it that carefully, please do not walk out there to get a photo.
WHEN CAN PEOPLE GET BACK INTO THEIR HOMES
Most roads in Northwood Hills are passable. The obstacle is electricity, which cannot be re-energized yet.
If you are trying to get back in, here is the guidance from the Mayor:
— Call and request an es**rt for your first entry. Some of these homes took water to the second floor, and the structure needs to be checked, the area needs to be confirmed de-energized, and gas has to be cleared. Do not do that first walkthrough alone.
— Getting your power turned back on is a process. Your insurance adjuster has to come out, then a licensed electrician has to do the work, then a city building inspector signs off, and then Duke Energy can restore service.
— The city is waiving all fees for permits and inspections related to this.
— Be prepared for insurance adjusters to take a while. The volume of claims across Indiana right now is enormous.
— If you are on a private well, the Hamilton County Health Department is standing by to help. Your well needs to be properly sanitized and the water tested before you drink it.
— Mold is a real concern in these homes, especially if you have kids or pets. Please factor that in before you move back in.
— Until then, please stay somewhere safe. The county is not using congregate shelters with cots. They are placing people in hotels that the health department has approved. Northview Church took in residents from a senior living center and many others, and I am grateful to them.
On FEMA and other assistance: federal dollars have been allocated, we are hopeful about state dollars, and the city has rainy day emergency funds. We are not yet at the point of knowing exactly how those get distributed.
PARKS AND TRAILS
Our Parks team inspected parks nearby on Sunday and again today.
— Hazel Landing Park took the hardest hit, and parts of it are permanently changed. It will be closed for some time, including The 106 Trail and the Bur Oak Bridge. The new parking lot near the entrance was undercut and is likely a total loss, and two sections of The 106 Trail have collapsed into Blue Woods Creek, with more at risk. The good news is that the Bur Oak Bridge itself appears to be in good shape. It will not need to be replaced, but engineers will inspect it and the surrounding trail work once the water recedes.
— River Heritage Park is closed. The playground, restrooms, and shelter came through intact and mostly need a deep clean. The wooded section down to the river is still underwater, so the accessible trail, boardwalks, and river overlooks cannot be assessed yet.
— White River Greenway north of the new Wilkerson Moffitt Trailhead is closed and barricaded. That is a known low spot. The new overlook and boardwalks look to be in great shape, pending inspection.
— Flowing Well Park should reopen this week, but the floodwater reached the well spigots, so the well stays closed until cleaning protocols and testing are complete. You can’t fill your water jugs at this time.
— Founders Park is open except the lower trails, which are still impassable. The new floating boardwalk floated exactly as designed and appears undamaged.
Planning for the entry drive paving and the first phase of the Greenway south of The 106 Trail is paused. The conditions those plans were based on no longer exist.
Please respect the closures. We have not lost a single life in this county through all of this, and being arrested is by far the best outcome for anyone who goes past those barriers.
CLEANUP AND DEBRIS
— The city is planning debris removal similar to what we did after the tornado, with dump trucks staged and staff available to haul out drywall, carpet, and ruined belongings.
— That includes residents outside the flood zone who have limb and storm damage.
— Electronics are a specific concern. The street department has already reached out to the Hamilton County Solid Waste District so that flood damaged electronics do not go into the regular trash. We should practice what we preach on that.
— For city-related requests, use our 311 program. For anything else, use the county number at the bottom of this post.
UTILITIES
Our utilities team has been remarkable, and here is what they have been up against:
— Saturday morning, roughly 8 feet of river water was sitting on top of manholes that were designed for rain events, not for that. The collection system started to surcharge. Crews began pumping and dewatering by 9 a.m. Saturday and kept at it until the inflow finally stopped last night. We are back to normal flows.
— The 106th Street lift station was the biggest scare. About 90 percent of our collection system flows through it. If the water had breached it, we would have lost it. Crews sandbagged and held on, and the water crested roughly 24 to 30 inches short.
— Going forward, the team is looking at elevating the power feed, controls, and generator at that station, which would buy about 7 more feet of protection at a reasonable cost, and possibly a berm or levee in that area.
— Carmel has 21 wells citywide. Three southern wells are currently offline, and not because they are broken. Their motors run fine. The 30 inch raw water main and 12 inch treated water main that carry water from them collapsed when the creek bed eroded out from underneath. Because we have enough wells north of there, service was never disrupted. That redundancy is why your tap kept working.
— Our wastewater plant needs treated water to operate. When those mains went, crews used tanker water, and then this morning ran fire hose from two hydrants to restore supply.
— On the force mains at risk: if they are exposed and compromised, crews will pump around them into the channel and service will continue. A contractor mobilizes in the morning to dig bypass pits, which takes six to eight hours. Here is the smart part. They are planning to dig those pits regardless, so that permanent bypass infrastructure is in place for the next time. Large diameter pipe is genuinely hard to source right now because of data center demand nationally, so they may have to run multiple smaller lines to carry the flow.
One more piece of context on all of this. Carmel did not get an extraordinary amount of rain. Communities to the north did, at what engineers call a 1,000-year event, meaning a 0.1 percent chance in any given year. We do not design bridges, levees, riverbanks, or utility systems to that standard, and no city does. There will be a formal after action review by both the city and the county, and you will get that information.
THE GENEROSITY HAS BEEN OVERWHELMING
An email came in today, and I was copied on it, from a resident offering to donate $10,000 to help our neighbors with the health and medical costs they are facing after this. Hundreds of people have offered to volunteer. Others have offered money, supplies, and prayers.
I also want to recognize our city team members. The Mayor described watching them pump sewage out of homes, and then help people on and off boats carrying scared cats and dogs and whatever contents of their lives fit in a backpack. Two thirds of our fire department did water rescue training two weeks ago, so that was good timing.
We lost property in this county. We did not lose a single life. That is not luck. That is our first responders.
If you want to help: volunteers should call the number below and fill out a form in person or by phone, so requests can be verified. Donations and supplies are going to the reception area at the fairgrounds in Noblesville. For monetary giving, the Community Foundation flood relief fund is the best route.
ONE NUMBER TO CALL
317-645-3261
That is the Hamilton County EOC line. A human answers it. Whether you need help, know someone who needs help, or want to volunteer, that is the number.
You are always welcome to call me at 317-361-6737 and I will help, but I am going to give you that county number as well, because one point of contact is what makes a response like this work.
I will keep updating you as I learn more. Thank you for looking out for each other. It is the reason I am proud to represent my city council district.
