When heavy rain falls, residents, business owners and local officials remember the day in 2008 when the water wouldn’t stop rising.
Streets flooded, cars were washed away and homes, businesses and government offices filled with feet of murky water.
In the 10 years since, some of those buildings and homes have taken on water again when heavy rain has fallen on saturated ground. And a repeated question from property owners is what is being done about drainage.
Since the 2008 flood, drainage has been a key focus for multiple communities.
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Millions of dollars have been spent making improvements to drainage pipes, creeks and other infrastructure systems, and millions more is planned to be spent in the coming years.
The two main goals are to help water flow more freely to prevent backups, and to give water a place to go during heavy rains so it won’t creep into homes and businesses.
The projects are often costly, and can take years to complete, local officials said.
After the flood, communities developed stormwater master plans, focused on improving the quantity and quality of water draining from local properties, which was required when new stormwater fees were added and new utilities were created to manage stormwater in 2012.
For most communities, the projects have a total cost in the millions, and officials said they are trying to address them slowly as the money is available.
For example, in Edinburgh, the key recommendation in their plan was a $24 million project to convert to using both sanitary and storm sewers, so rainwater won’t overwhelm the sewer system, causing backups. But that work will take years, so officials are breaking it down into phases, town manager Wade Watson said.
In Greenwood, the master plan has $18 million in projects. So far, the city has done five of the 15 on its list, for a cost of $1.4 million, stormwater superintendent Chris Jones said.
But by doing projects little by little, local communities are making a difference, officials said.
When Franklin has rebuilt some of its key routes, such as Main Street, Jefferson Street and King Street, installing larger drainage pipes under the road has been a necessity, city engineer Mark Richards said.
Creeks and drains have also been a key focus, with workers making sure stormwater drains are clear and not filled with debris, and work that has been done to remove sediment and vegetation from the creeks, along with making sure any log jams that happen after flooding are cleared as soon as possible, Richards said.
Since the 2008 flood, Whiteland has spent about $800,000 on drainage improvements meant to help some of the key areas that flood, town manager Norm Gabehart said. That includes a significant drainage project on Pearl Street, he said.
Now, areas that used to flood with 1 to 2 inches of rain won’t require town workers to bring out the pumps until a more heavy rainfall, such as if 4 to 7 inches of rain falls, Gabehart said.
“Those are just extreme conditions that fall under that category. Those aren’t just heavy rains,” he said.
But larger projects, which also often come with a higher price tag, are what will make some of the biggest differences, local officials said.
Franklin has been working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for more than two years on a study that is using computer modeling to show where water is being constricted and causing backups and how those problems should be addressed, Richards said.
The recommendations from that study, which will take at least another year to complete, could range from further bank stabilization work along Youngs Creek to larger projects, such as rebuilding the railroad bridge over Hurricane Creek near Monroe Street, redesigning the bridge over Youngs Creek along U.S. 31 to allow better water flow, creating a diversion channel for water to flow away from downtown Franklin or adding a detention area to hold excess water during heavy rain that would slowly release water into the creeks, Richards said.
“These are all just options, nothing is set in stone,” Richards said.
Another large project that is being planned is a detention area on the north side of Whiteland, which would hold excess water during heavy rain, and could help reduce flooding throughout the town and in communities further south, Gabehart said.
And now that the city has reached a tentative agreement with the developer of a new neighborhood off Whiteland Road, the new facility could be underway as soon as this year, Gabehart said.
The detention area, which would be on 25 acres of land owned by Clark-Pleasant schools off Front Street, would be built up with mounds to retain water and drain it more slowly, so downtown Whiteland and other areas of the town are not hit with so much water from development further north all at once. Gabehart hopes that the project would improve drainage throughout the county, he said.
The town is still working with the developers, who would build the detention facility and get credits on their stormwater fees, and with the state for the required approvals to get the project done. He hopes to see work begin as soon as this fall, he said.
Some of the other projects that have made the biggest difference have been flood buyouts done by local governments, who used federal funding to buy and demolish homes in flood-prone areas. Franklin bought and tore down 66 homes, and the county did the same with 37 homes.
Greenwood has started its own project, which is ongoing.
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Here is a look at some of the drainage projects done in local communities since the 2008 flood:
Edinburgh
Replaced storm drain pipe near State Road 252 that failed in 2008 flood
Connected dry wells near Pruitt East to major storm drain to help with drainage
Rebuilding inlet into treatment plant and diverting additional water into a lagoon during times of heavy rain and flooding
Installed dry wells in low-lying areas with no sewer access to hold water
Franklin
Installed larger drainage pipes under roads that have been rebuilt, including Main, Jefferson and King Street
Removed overgrowth and stabilized banks of Youngs Creek
Relined pipe in Roaring Run to help with water flow
Routinely clean out storm drains and log jams in creeks
Completed flood buyout of more than 60 homes in flood-prone areas, pursuing buyout of businesses near downtown that often flood
Installing backflow preventer along Jefferson Street to try to stop water from backing up onto the road
Ongoing study with Army Corps of Engineers to determine where improvements can be made to help water flow
Greenwood
Completed five of 15 projects in the stormwater master plan
Replaced bridge and retaining wall at Market Plaza
Adding underground detention unit under new parking lot near Meridian Street and Surina Way
Began process to buy and remove homes in flood-prone areas
Added additional water detention space along Honey Creek, and are looking to do the same in Pleasant Run Creek along Madison Avenue
Whiteland
Installed new drainage pipes in several areas, including east of the railroad tracks that is prone to flooding
Improved drainage system along Pearl Street
Planning a new 25-acre detention area north of town to hold some of the water that leads to flooding during heavy rains
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