An ongoing issue

Flooding.

There have been other major topics in the news over the last decade, from wind farms to hospital changes to opioids to school finance. But nothing has been in the headlines more frequently than flooding.

It’s been discussed at virtually every local government meeting, and been a topic high on the agenda during state of the city and state of the county speeches.

And it was back again last week as county commissioner Barry Hudson relayed details of a conference call that also included Portland Mayor Randy Geesaman and the Army Corps of Engineers.

Among the key details Hudson shared was that the Corps’ focus is on problems that come as a result of the river overflowing its banks. For the most part, though, that has not been the issue in Portland. Instead, the bulk of the flood damage in the city has come from water spilling into the streets from backed up sewers.

There has been no major flooding in the city during the last two years, but fear of water damage comes up every time there is a heavy rain. That’s sparked by a series of floods over the previous five-year period.



Feb. 28, 2011

In what was then called a historic flood, Portland’s downtown and surrounding residential areas were under water. Flooding was also an issue in New Corydon and Redkey.

In Portland, the flood, which was came as a significant snow melt was followed by heavy rain, was the rare occasion that the Salamonie did overflow. It crested about 8 p.m.

“We anticipated that the water was coming out of the banks (of the Salamonie),” said then-Mayor Bruce Hosier. “We figured that was probably going to happen. The quickness of it really surprised us.”

The bulk of the flooding was in the area bounded by Middle, Race, Harrison and Water streets, although low spots throughout the city were under water as well. Portland City Hall was swamped with about a foot of water.

The result was more than $4 million in damage, with Jay Community Center hit especially hard.

City council member Don Gillespie, who has lived on East Third Street along the south banks of the Salamonie River since he was in the fifth grade, had only seen the water as high once in his life.

“I saw this in ’57. This is as high as I’ve ever had it,” he said. “I’ve got probably two feet of water in my garages. It’s way higher than it’s been in the past.



Dec. 22, 2013

Portland residents and business owners got an unwelcome surprise three days before Christmas as much of downtown Portland was under water and Meridian Street (U.S. 27) was closed for the bulk of the day. They feared the worst as the water was rising, but damage was far more limited that it had been two years earlier as downtown business owners said the water did not seep inside their buildings.

The flooding came as 4.2 inches of rain fell beginning Dec. 20, following the melting of more than 4 inches of snow that had fallen the previous weekend.

Areas of Water, Main, Pleasant, Walnut, High, Arch, Race and North and the adjoining streets on the west side of the city were closed beginning late Dec. 21. Meridian Street was closed for about 12 hours Dec. 22, though problems were not as bad as had been forecast.

“They had projected for the Salamonie at Warren … could crest at 14 foot,” said Ralph Frazee, Jay County Emergency Management director. “It just got to a little over 12.”

High water was a problem throughout the county, with New Corydon again surrounded. Rushing water swept away drain tiles on county road 900 South, and parts of county road 900 North and county road 400 South were also swept away.



Summer 2015

Flooding three years ago wasn’t limited to a single incident. Instead, downtown Portland was under water on three separate occasions from mid-June through mid-July as more than 21 inches of rain fell in Jay County over a six-week period.

The most severe of the three incidents began late July 13, worsened through July 14 and continued into July 15 as about 5 inches of rain fell in Jay County. Meridian Street was closed for more than 30 hours before re-opening early July 15 as the flooding rivaled that of 2011. In addition to the downtown area, the most severe flooding was on the west side of Portland.

The problems resulted in a visit from then-Gov. Mike Pence to assess the damage.

“It’s difficult to see Portland in this condition, but it’s inspiring to see the community respond,” Pence said. “It was really startling (from the air) … You really couldn’t see where the river was. It was really dramatic. … It was something to behold.”

The flooding in mid-July followed problems the previous month that saw Meridian Street and the surrounding area downtown under water June 17 and June 27. Jay County Fairgrounds flooded July 7 during the fair, and wet conditions resulted in the postponement of that year’s Trace Adkins concert.

Elsewhere in the county, sections of county roads 500 North and 700 South were washed out over culverts.