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Chicago Tribune
26-05-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Hickory Ridge flood control project underway in Merrillville
Some 400 residents in and around the former Hickory Ridge apartment complex are getting 2.73 million gallons of water storage — and lower flood insurance bills — via a partnership between the Town of Merrillville and Little Calumet River Basin Development Commission. The 8.4-acre trench to the west of The Ridge apartments, on 57th and Hayes Street, has been under construction for several months and is expected to be completed within a month or so, Merrillville Stormwater Utility Executive Director Matt Lake said Thursday during an onsite groundbreaking ceremony. The next time they're out on the scene, they may need to hold a ribbon-cutting, he joked. 'The purpose of this project is to provide a substantially higher level of flood control,' Lake said. 'This project provides about 2.73 million gallons of storage as well as improved conveyances and rehabilitation of a pump system, all combined to assist this area.' The project has been many years in the making – 17 years, to be exact, Lake said. In September 2008, the trajectory of flood mitigation changed in two days when nine inches of rain deluged Northwest Indiana. 'Stormwater mitigation was a relatively new thing, and we weren't required to do a lot of things,' he said. '(After that storm) we really started taking flood control much more seriously.' The town started acquiring the easements it needed for The Ridge project — never an easy, short task, Lake and Burke Engineering Vice President of Water Resources Darren Olson agreed — and in 2014, it created a Stormwater Master Plan with about $20 million worth of mitigation projects that the town has been checking off one by one, Lake said. The Ridge project, at $2.1 million, is one of the bigger ones. 'Everyone does stormwater master plans now; having a road map, especially for big-dollar projects, is important,' Lake said. When completed, the project will have replaced all the underground pipes with bigger ones as well as place the pump and lift station mostly underground, Lake and Olson said. Project contractor Dyer Construction will the redo the road and install sidewalks along the length of the project. While keeping water out of residents' basements — and in the case of The Ridge tenants, their whole apartments — is the big goal, helping them keep their flood insurance is a bonus, Lake said. Projects like the new pump system give that area of Merrillville a lower rating on the National Flood Insurance Program's Community Rating System, which means lower flood insurance rates. Lake credited the Merrillville Town Council and Stormwater Board for 'making the tough decisions but gave special thanks to the Little Calumet River Basin Development Commission, which gave the town $932,168 in cost-share dollars for the project. The rest of it, he said, was paid for purely through town stormwater fees. 'We didn't bond out at all for this – in fact, our bonds are all paid off,' he said. Council President Rick Bella, D-5, said he was happy to see it's almost finished and that he supports any project that benefits residents.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
‘Wall of water': A look back at catastrophic Memorial Day floods in Austin
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Central Texas has experienced two catastrophic flooding events on Memorial Day weekend going back to the 80s. With rain in the forecast for next week, follow the KXAN First Warning Weather team for forecasts and real-time alerts for severe weather conditions. It's now been ten years since a flash flood hit the Blanco and San Marcos rivers in Hays County — killing at least 13 people, KXAN has previously reported. In Austin itself, roughly five inches of rain fell on Memorial Day in 2015, according to the city — causing roads to close and people to flee to higher ground. 'Units began running calls around 9 a.m. that morning,' Austin Fire Department Assistant Chief Tom Vocke remembered. 'Water and flood-related calls started, but eventually turned into the units that we were working with being assigned to the Pleasant Valley area.' Vocke talked about the fire department's efforts to evacuate people from a neighborhood in that area, which was flooding. At some point, the 'wall of water' came, and the streets turned into rivers, he said. 'We had 27 firefighters working that area at the time. After the water came through, 24 of those firefighters were sheltering in place in high areas with members of the community,' Vocke said. The city of Austin said it has done the following to protect Austin from future flood events since: Improved local drainage systems and infrastructure in flood-prone areas Elevated its Community Rating System flood score, resulting in discounts up to 25% on flood insurance premiums Upgraded Austin's Flood Early Warning System (FEWS) Created a pilot program to help homeowners in flood-prone areas with flood insurance costs During the 1981 Memorial Day flood, more than a foot of water fell in less than three hours, killing 13 people and causing extensive damage, KXAN previously reported. That flood kickstarted significant changes to how Austin prepares for severe flooding — including the creation of the FEWS. Austin created a warning system after 1981 Memorial Day flood, here's how it works That system includes a team of experts who can alert the public and emergency responders to potential flooding. 'The team includes a Program Manager, a Hydrologist Senior, two Engineers, and four IT Support Analysts. Their mission is to identify flood hazards and alert the public and emergency responders about the hazard to protect the lives and property of the public from flooding,' the Watershed Protection Department wrote in a memo to city council. FEWS uses tools like: Rain and stream gages Cameras at low-water crossings Automatic traffic gates Flashing beacons They're also the team behind ATX Floods. 'We ask residents to go look at it. It's a live program. When it rains, we actually offer live updates on which crossings are closed, where there is rainfall. It's a really very good site for residents to go look at,' Ramesh Swaminathan, the assistant director of Austin's Watershed Protection Department, told KXAN previously. Preparing for flooding includes: Making a plan Learning about flood insurance Signing up for emergency alerts 'We are trying to do everything we can, but the community has a role to play, so we [would] really love for them to be part of it. Go to There are many useful links there to be prepared,' Swaminathan said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Lower flood insurance premiums coming for James Island homeowners
JAMES ISLAND, S.C. (WCBD) — Homeowners in the Town of James Island are slated to receive lower premiums for flood insurance starting this fall. Officials said Thursday that the town's designation in FEMA's Community Rating System — a voluntary incentive program — was bumped up to Class 5 as a result of ongoing efforts to reduce the risk of flooding. That means policyholders within the town are set to get an additional 5% in savings on flood insurance policies, bringing the total discount to 25% starting in October. According to FEMA data, the median cost of insurance for a single-family home through the National Flood Insurance Program was $797 in August 2023. Joint Base Charleston seeking public input on environmental restoration program The town has implemented a range of preventative measures in recent years to help mitigate flooding, including adopting stronger building standards to ensure buildings in low-lying areas can withstand worsening storm surges. 'By strengthening our flooding program and adopting stricter development requirements, we've been able to help our residents cut their flood insurance bills by 25%,' Mayor Brook Lyon said. 'And that's a real win for both safety and savings.' Officials said they are hopeful recent land conservation efforts made possible by the county's Greenbelt program will help secure large discounts in the future. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
