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Satellite)
Central and Southeastern Indiana have experienced a 1000-year flood.
Since the median is filled in, I can't tell if the girders for this bridge were steel or concrete.
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Aug 16, 2026: WISH-TV posted
Hazel Dell Parkway in Carmel has been completely destroyed by floodwaters from the White River. It washed away fill materials behind the bridge abutment, creating sinkholes, undermining the approach and causing the roadway to crack in half. (Provided Photo/City of Carmel) Kevin D. McLeaster: Correct Headline example : "The bridge over Cool Creek on Hazel Dell Parkway has failed due to the to floodwaters from the White River." Jeff B Bowers: Kevin D. McLeaster yes. Things are bad enough without media sensationalizing to get more clicks. The bridge was destroyed. Not the entirety of Hazel Dell. Craig E Capehart: I think the Hazel Dell bridge is over Cool Creek, not White River. 🤔 Marilyn Naden Behrman: Craig E Capehart, yes, water from the White River is filling up Cool Creek, which is then running backwards and filling up the nearby Martin Marietta quarry. The rush of this water is causing the erosion and the failure of the roadway. Jennie Thompson: If the quarry had not filled with water the river would have overflowed the levy in Broad Ripple. [Comments kept correcting Cool Creek as Blue Woods Creek.] |
Because of the angle the creek makes with the road, Blue Woods Creek is the correct creek. That creek has a small watershed, so the bridge is probably more than adequate for the normal flow in the creek. But it was not adequate for the backflow. It looks like the equipment in the quarry is on the upper levels. I wonder how full the quarry got. (Update: it got full. See below.) Did it occur to the engineers who designed the bridge that there would be a backflow during a flood? Or did they consider the backflow, but did not realize how big the backflow could be?
Update:
I have not been able to find the date of the levee breach. This Aug 15, 2026, video is the earliest video I have seen, and it shows the bridge is still intact. This video is early enough that the quarry is not full, and you can see waterfalls as the river water goes over the edges.
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7:34 video @ 0:06
(August 15th) White River Flooding Quarry in Carmel Indiana - Drone Footage |
Another videographer that arrived early enough to catch the waterfalls.
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3:42 video
Historic White River Flood: How a Massive Waterfall Formed at a Carmel Quarry |
Carmel is now facing another potentially catastrophic consequence of Indiana’s historic flooding — and this one could become a major environmental and infrastructure emergency.
City officials warned Monday that severe erosion near Hazel Dell Parkway is threatening a critical sewer line that carries roughly 90% of Carmel’s wastewater to its treatment plant. Carmel Mayor Sue Finkam said officials believe there is a very high likelihood the line could fail if erosion continues.
The danger comes after flooding along the White River caused a portion of Hazel Dell Parkway and a bridge over Blue Woods Creek to collapse.
Nearby, floodwater has reportedly filled roughly 75% of Martin Marietta’s Carmel Sand & Gravel quarry. Officials warn that if the sewer infrastructure fails, raw sewage could enter the quarry and ultimately the White River.
Carmel’s wastewater treatment plant is located near 96th Street and Hazel Dell Parkway, and city documents show its treatment capacity was expanded from 12 million to 14 million gallons per day.
Officials have emphasized that Carmel’s drinking water is treated and that the potential sewage release is not expected to contaminate the city’s drinking-water supply.
Still, this flood has gone from submerged neighborhoods and evacuations to collapsed roads, damaged bridges and now the possibility of a major sewer failure.
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IndyStar posted
Officials are not yet sure how long it will take to repair or replace a bridge in Carmel that was severely damaged in the recent historic flooding. 📸 Image courtesy of the City of Carmel |
I hope having the equipment working at the upper layers of the quarry gave them enough time to move the equipment out of the quarry.
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City of Carmel, Indiana Government posted
Over the past several days, historic flooding has severely impacted our community. Since heavy rains began on Friday, Aug. 14, Carmel’s first responders and City teams have worked around the clock alongside county, state and federal agencies to keep residents safe and begin recovery. This special edition community newsletter includes a recap of the City's press conference, all recent news releases, safety guidelines, road closures and visual coverage of the damage. You will also find community resources below to request assistance or sign up to volunteer. Terry Purdue: If the quarry wasn't there, imagine the damages. I feel for the fellow employees of mine. That quarry has been a source of rock since the 50's. I wonder if anyone actually knows how much water the quarry has taken on. Darron J Chadwick: Terry Purdue they say around 9billion gallons |
The newscaster says this view is 75% of its 9-billion-gallon capacity.
Aug 19, 2026:
Sue Finkam for Carmel Mayor posted three photos with the comment:
There are three important stages to understand about the threat to Carmel’s wastewater infrastructure following unprecedented flooding.
First, the threat: Historic flooding changed the river’s path and caused rapid erosion near a major wastewater line that carries approximately 90% of the wastewater Carmel treats. If that flow main had failed, sewage would have entered the White River. That did not happen.
Second, the emergency response: City teams and private partners built a temporary dam using sycamore trees and ~400 truckloads of concrete chunks and aggregate. The response slowed the water, stabilized the area and protected the line. The Indiana National Guard then reinforced the work by precisely dropping massive sandbags delivered by Black Hawk helicopters to create a secondary dam. Redundancy is essential for resilience.
Third, the work ahead: The immediate threat has been significantly reduced, but the emergency measures are temporary. We are working to assess long-term solutions and implement permanent repairs.
Additionally, we continue our work to get residents with damaged homes and broken hearts the resources they need to move forward.
Our City’s focus on helping each other through challenging times is one of our best attributes.
Jude Odell: It should be mentioned that the sandbags were available because many volunteers organized and filled them all thru the night in Rocky Ripple, from the sand in their park volley ball court. ....An important link that would not have existed without their extreme efforts and generosity. I hope Carmel will be thankful enough to replace their sand when the danger is over. They are a small town with limited resources but many friends.
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Mark Finney: I was amazed when i learned that sycamore wood sinks. |
Aug 19, 2026: 40 workers at the quarry are out of a job. Martin Marietta did not respond to the reporters request for more information. And they did not say if the equipment was saved. [
YouTube]
I've seen some comments that they used cement trucks rather than concrete chunks. I could not understand why the flow would not have just flushed the cement away. But dump trucks carrying concrete chunks makes sense if the chunks were big enough. Some have referred to the dam that uses trees and material as a beaver dam. I think that term is appropriate.
I have skipped a lot of videos that show just the water in the quarry. But this one also followed Blue Woods Creek back to the White River. I didn't remember a bridge on the satellite image, so I took another look. It turns out this bridge was built since the satellite photos were taken. It is the
Bur Oak Trail Bridge.
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2:24 video @ 1:42
2026 Indy Flood: BILLIONS of Gallons Filling the Martin Marietta Surface Mine from the White River |
Finally, I found a video that clearly shows the two dams built to stop the water that was eroding towards the sewage pipe that carried 90% of Carmel's wastewater. The beaver dam is above senter and the sandbag dam is below center. It strikes me that the sandbag dam was a publicity stunt. Or maybe a training session.
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2:31 video @ 0:04
Hazel Dell Parkway/Blue Woods Creek Recovery Project in Carmel Indiana (August 20th) - Drone Footage |
Aug 24: they have built another "beaver dam" closer to the sandbag dam, and they are actively making the original beaver dam a lot bigger. They don't appear to be in any rush to replace the bridge.
Note how erosion completely exposed the pilings under the far abutment.
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WRTV posted
Hamilton County officials announced that a new Hazel Dell Parkway bridge south of 106th Street in Carmel is expected to take approximately 60 days to design following its destruction by historic flooding. Meanwhile, massive cleanup efforts continue for over 900 damaged homes across the county north of Indianapolis. https://shorturl.at/N3jc9 |
Aug 26: I think the long-boom excavator in the parking lot is new.
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Youarecurrent posted
“Everybody's in uncharted territory right now,” Carmel Utilities Director Lane Young said. “But I think we have a good plan to help them get (the water) back into the river.” [The article says there is equipment down there. But the fuel evidently has remained in its containers because no sheen has been spotted on the water.] |
Aug 28: He found some action down by the White River. The long-boom excavator has been moved away from the creek.
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10:18 video @ 4:43
@bennyfactor: I am pretty sure those large pipes are the big sanitary sewer main that goes to the water treatment facility just northeast of 96th/HD, the ones they were worried about being undermined and contaminating the river. The treeless line where they are working on it points right to that fenced-in sewer pumping station just northwest of the pedestrian bridge. |
