WFHB Bloomington Community Radio
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The Town of Ellettsville has a 100 year history of flooding.
At the town council’s meeting yesterday, Fire Chief Mike Cornman said heavy rains and flash flooding left no way in or out of the town, last Thursday afternoon. The town is working with the Indiana Department of Environmental Management on a flood study.
Chandler Funeral Home Director Ron Wayt told the council rushing rainwater from a school parking lot across the street from the funeral home met with rising flood waters from Jack’s Defeat Creek, with his business caught in the middle. Wayt said the fast rising waters across State Road 46 created treacherous conditions for those trying to evacuate.
Wayt said Chandler Funeral Home is still assessing the damage from last Thursday’s flooding. He said his business has sustained hundred of thousands of dollars worth of flood damage in the past.
In recent months, the town council has made attempts to acquire property along Jack’s Defeat Creek. Following a recommendation by the DNR, officials said they’re looking at restoring the properties to a natural state, which would allow flood waters to better absorb. The council has been hesitant to use eminent domain to acquire the property. Interim Town Manager Mike Farmer said the town is collecting information from Ellettsville businesses on the damages they’ve sustained.
Meanwhile, cleanup efforts from last week’s flooding continue, but Farmer said the freeze that followed the flooding caused some delays. Farmer said he’s working with the town council on a date to present the flood study’s results.
