Lake Forest

Flood Plain Designation / Levee

Posted in: Warfleigh
Levee construction timeline

Per an email from Rachel Buckmaster, neighborhood liaison:
The levee project is moving along. Here is a link to the timeline: http://www.indygov.org/NR/rdonlyres/eqr5ojpegik3aat3ub6poumb5xuuylfklzguf6fxsukcn3g2bv63mb5lsba46a6przcbvnkdz2vieuuhtgik7abhdqg/IndyNorth102804.PDF

Remind folks that the federal government won?’t lift the flood insurance requirement until the entire project is completed. As you can see on page 3 of the fact sheet, we anticipate we will receive that letter (?“of map revision?”, which will remove homes from the map requiring the insurance, basically) in the fall of 2009.

2/6/07 Update on Levee

Indianapolis North Flood Damage Reduction Project, DPW Project No. LD-11-084

The project is located in metropolitan Indianapolis, IN along the northern reaches of the White River within Marion County.

The levee will be constructed in three sections ?– South Warfleigh, Warfleigh and Monon-Broad Ripple Sections. The project segments are hydraulically linked, necessitating construction of all phases in order to successfully protect and remove approximately 2400 properties from the 100-year floodplain. In addition, the project includes installation of an in-river flood warning system and environmental mitigation at Lake Sullivan.
The Warfleigh Section (Phase IIIA) completed in 2004 consisted of the construction of a 7600-foot floodwall/levee on the existing Warfleigh levee. This section of the project covered rehabilitation of the existing Warfleigh between Kessler Boulevard West Drive and North College Avenue. The completed work included excavating a 20-foot wide construction surface on the existing levee, construction of approximately 7070 linear feet of floodwall, 530 linear feet of earthen levee, approximately 7600 linear feet of toe drain, and seeding and landscaping. The existing Warfleigh Pumping Station, located along this section of the levee, underwent a substantial rehabilitation as part of this phase of the Indianapolis North project.

The South Warfleigh Section (Phase IIIB) will involve construction of approximately 4100 linear feet of floodwall from the Riviera Club to Kessler Boulevard. The final alignment of the floodwall is presently under evaluation. The South Warfleigh Section will also include construction of approximately 3000 linear feet of a ?½-foot to 1 ?½-foot high decorative wall adjacent to the towpath of the Indianapolis Water Company Canal. This short wall is necessary to provide the designed flood project protection for the project. Final design of this segment of the project is nearing completion.

The Monon-Broad Ripple Section (Phase IIIC), currently under construction, extends from North College Avenue to high ground just upstream of the intake of the Indianapolis Water Canal. The Broad Ripple portion of this section extends approximately 1500 feet from College Avenue, along the south side of 67th Street, to the existing Monon East Levee. The Monon portion of this segment extends approximately 3200 linear feet across the existing levee and ties into the roadway embankment of Westfield Boulevard. From the southeast side of Westfield Boulevard, the project parallels both Westfield Boulevard and the White River to high ground near the intake structure of the Indianapolis Water Canal. A key component of the project is modification of the Indianapolis Water Canal intake gate structure. The modifications will integrate the intake structure into the flood works, thereby safeguarding a major drinking water supply system for the City. The construction contract award certification was completed in September 2006.
Costs

The project will cost approximately $19.0 million. The non-Federal sponsor, the City of Indianapolis, Indiana, will pay 25 percent of project costs or $4,750,000 with a Federal contribution of 75 percent or $14,250,000.
Sponsor
Consolidated City of Indianapolis and Marion County, Indiana
Contractors
Phase IIIC - Bowen Engineering Corporation, Fishers, Indiana
Phase IIIB - To be determined

Area Flood History

Area Flood History
Flooding has occurred periodically on the White River in Indianapolis. The March 1913 flood, a 500-year event, is the flood of record for the White River in the Indianapolis area. Major floods also occurred in 1937 and 1943. In the period from 1953 through 2002, there were four significant flood events on the White River. The April 1964 flood was the largest in this period. The 1964 flood was slightly larger than the January 1991 flood and is estimated between a 15-year to 20-year flood event.

The most recent flood event of significance occurred in January 1991 when flooding, estimated at a 15-year flood event, forced evacuation of 500 homes in Marion County and caused extensive property damage. The flooding interrupted utility services to thousands of homes, damaged numerous roadways impairing access to the public, and resulted in several life threatening injuries. During this flood, water came through and under the Warfleigh levee. Engineering studies conducted in response to this flood determined that the existing levee would breach before it was overtopped. This would create a catastrophic situation, possibly resulting in loss of life, since there would be little or no warning.

Since the 1991 flood, there have been additional flood events occurring in May 2002, July 2003, January 2005 and, most recently, January 2007. During the January 2007 event, the river remained above flood stage for a period of eight (8) days.
Project Schedule and FEMA

Project Schedule
Description of Work Start Completion
Project Cooperation Agreement -- December 2000
Warfleigh Pump Station Rehabilitation November 2001 Spring 2004
Environmental Mitigation Fall 2005 Spring 2006
Warfleigh Section September 2002 July 2004
Monon-Broad Ripple Section Construction Fall 2006 Spring 2008
South Warfleigh Section Construction Fall 2007 Fall 2009
Letter of Map Revision Submittal & Acceptance Fall 2009 Fall 2010

Post-Project Finalization
Upon completion of the construction phases of the project, the Corps of Engineers and the City of Indianapolis, will submit as-built construction documents and applicable engineering design data to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). This submittal will be for the purpose of obtaining a Letter of Map Revision (LOMR), which would reduce mapped floodplain boundaries for the Broad Ripple, Warfleigh, Meridian Kessler and Butler Tarkington neighborhoods. Upon acceptance by FEMA, flood control district development restrictions may be reduced or removed for the neighborhoods.

Additionally, the acceptance by FEMA may reduce or eliminate flood insurance requirements for the properties benefited by the project. It is anticipated that the reduction of development restrictions and the lessening flood insurance requirements will foster increased economic development opportunities in the benefited areas
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