Carmel officials are monitoring a flurry of flooding unknowns around the clock to determine how disruptive recovery efforts could become — including a potentially dangerous connection between the White River and a southeast-side quarry.
Why it matters: Despite falling water levels, the most consequential effects for Carmel could still unfold as floodwaters reshape the landscape, threaten critical infrastructure, and create new public safety risks for residents.
Driving the news: A flood-battered section of Blue Woods Creek has been flowing backward toward the Martin Marietta quarry since a Saturday levee breach.
- The erosion moved nearly 200 feet toward the White River in a single night, according to Carmel city engineer Brad Pease.
The latest: As of Tuesday morning, crews had temporarily stabilized riverbanks to redirect fast-moving water and slow channel cutting.
- On Monday night, Pease put the odds of the channels connecting at roughly 75%, down slightly from an earlier estimate.
- If they connect, the White River could temporarily divert into the quarry, which can hold about 9 billion gallons of water that “otherwise would have been going down the White River into Indianapolis and causing additional flooding,” Carmel Mayor Sue Finkam said.
- Due to the dangerous conditions, Hamilton County issued an emergency declaration prohibiting all recreational travel on the White River.
What they’re saying: “Obviously, what we’re hoping for is the erosion slows … that channel doesn’t dig into the side of the river, we don’t have these changes in flow and we don’t have a damaged pipe,” Finkam said. “That’s the best scenario, so that’s what you need to be praying for tonight.”…