A flood watch has been issued for those in the area of the Tippecanoe River, including those in Carroll County, as the plant discharge rates exceeded 9,000 cubic-feet-per-second earlier this morning, July 10.
The Carroll County community was alerted earlier this morning for a flood watch in the Tippecanoe River area as the Norway Hydro Plant at Lake Shafer and the Oakdale Hydro Plant at Lake Freeman experienced plant discharge of over 9,000-cubic-feet-per-second as of 9 a.m. on July 10.
The Norway Hydro Plant recorded plant discharge of 11,177-cubic-feet-per-second at 9 a.m. while the Oakdale Hydro Plant recorded plant discharge of 10,460-cubic-feet-per-second, placing both dams above the 9,000-cubic-feet-per-second threshold before a flood warning is issued.
NIPSCO has released that if the levels reach 13,000-cubic-feet-per-second, a flood warning will be issued for the areas downstream from the dams as the water will be discharged in surplus.
As of 10 a.m., the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration showed that the flow for the Oakdale Dam has begun to reach levels that are nearing the designation that the administration and the National Weather Service denote as “minor action needed” to counteract flooding scenarios. As of 9:30 a.m., the administration clocked a reading of 12.68 feet with the a flood stage being experienced at 14 feet. As of 9:45 a.m., the reading increased to 12.77 feet.
For the Norway Dam, the stage was recorded as 13.08 feet with a minor flood stage designation being issued at 11.5 feet. A moderate flood stage designation will be issued if the stage reaches 14.8 feet, which will indicate a flood warning status. Within an hour, the flood stage jumped from 12.45 feet to 13.08 feet as recorded at 9:45 a.m. on July 10. For the minor designation, residential property just downstream of the bridge begins to flood, but a moderate designation will see flood waters reach the foundation of the residence just downstream of the bridge on the left bank.
Residents and community members downstream from the Oakdale Dam and the Norway Dam are encouraged to begin preparations in the event that a flood scenario could occur.