NORTHSHORE TRIANGLE FLOOD UPDATE MEETING

March 20, 2018, 6 pm - 8 pm, Holy Cross College Driscoll Auditorium
Moderator:  Barb Sutton, Neighborhood Association President
SB Common Council Representation: Jo Broden, 3rd District
St. Joseph County Emergency Management: John Antonucci 235-9378
City Engineer and Director of Public Works: Eric Horvath

NOTE: There is a Utilities Meeting coming up. For more information contact Ms. Broden at 235-5978
Also, Meeting on the 27th at the County-City Building @5:30 pm to continue the discussion.
For neighborhood updates use "NEXT DOOR" Code: GDNMYN - NextDoor dot com

* 700 hundred homes affected in St. Joseph County
* 65 with Major Damage
* 464 homes total in the Triangle area
* Indiana Overall - 34 Counties with 500 homes destroyed
* 1,300 in Elkhart County
* John Antonucci said, "FEMA gravy train is done."
* It's up to the President if any relief monies are given

REPORTING FLOOD DAMAGE:
Working on getting FEMA Grants that could give people up to $35K for their damaged homes
People need to make sure they call the 235-9378 and report all their damage to qualify.
FEMA will be in St. Joseph County for the NEXT 2 WEEKS, so now is the time to make an appointment.
Homeowners need to document dates, where water came in, kind of water, photos of damages, photos of repairs, all receipts and license #'s of contractors
They will need to know if you already have "Gate Valves" installed.
There is a 30 day waiting period before people can buy flood insurance.
People have different policies. Some had a "Sewer Backup" rider, some had "Intermingling Water" and others had "Direct or Indirect Water".
If there are additional trash items, call 311 for free pickup. Also call if streets need to be swept.
There is a local Disaster Relief Fund

Citizens experienced multiple problems:
* Flooding
* Ground water coming in through basement walls (High Water Table)
* Sewer Backup
Insurance and FEMA cover differently, so be sure to read carefully before submitting claims and the wording of them.

Eric Horvath noted they are looking at two phases:
* Preparedness with Emergency Planning
* Mitigation
Problems on 600 block of Northshore Blvd where road collapsed:
* Sandy Soil
* Erosion
* Applied for Grant
* Need in involve Army Corp of Engineers, IDEM and DNR since river may be changing course or deepening there to determine exactly
"SAGE Plan" is being worked on
Eric Horvath: $105M already spent and $713M more needed  
(Note: Entire annual City Budget is around $300M. City spent around $47M on "Smart Streets", $4M + for "Coal Line Bike Trail" and just issued bonds for $50M to spend on parks and a $600K Parks Entertainment vehicle built by the same people who built the Oscar Meyer Mobile)
Eric Horvath commented, "It would cost billions to have a completely separated sewer system."

50% of the City still has combined sewers
Many of the "Lateral" pipes are over 100 years old in this area
Data for sewers was based on 2.5" of rain in 24 hours and this was a 10 year evaluation
1992 they applied the 5 largest storms to the model

SEWER VALVES:
All the red dots on the map are sewer backup
(City has a Residential Basement Valve Program that will reimburse up 50% up to $1,500 using a licensed plumber - call 235-9251 for information)
Building Department can tell you if a company is licensed or not.
They recommend a "multi-flap" design
For the program it needs to be a single family home, primary residence and connected to the South Bend City Sewers

DOWNSPOUTS:
All the yellow dots are where downspouts are still connected
Home Downspouts are required to be disconnected per Ordinance #5253-70, Chapter 17, Article 1, Section 17-4
(City has a downspout disconnection program - call 235-9251 for information)
Businesses can pay a nominal one time fee and continue to be connected and drain into the sewers with no further charges

MOLD CLEANUP:
They recommend a product called "Mold Control" and getting a license mold remediation company.

FLOOD LEVELS:
August 2016 - 5.5 Billion Gallons/Day flowed through SB
February 2018 - 14.5 Billion Gallons/Day flowed through SB

CONSULTANT:
City is hiring the firm of Lang, Feeney and Associates to evaluate the problems
They won't be working on it for another 3 months
There was a 20 year plan that involves storage tanks and CSO6 which is a 2.5K acre area by Prairie Avenue
City needs more storage tanks since the water table is high 
There are currently 35 CSO Basins
There is an 84" high pipe at Angela Blvd to handle the main water in the sewers

CITIZEN COMMENTS:
* Want maps of sewers and maps of damaged areas released
Eric Horvath answer: We have some information on the City G.I.S. and they are working off 1965 maps of the sewers that are often inaccurate at this point.
* Citizen estimate - $16M worth of property damage in the Triangle area
* FEMA Flood maps show Blue areas for "100 year flood levels" and Brown areas for "500 year flood levels" (see picture) Citizen is concerned being in "flood area" will signigicantly lower property values
* Andrew Hughes had research and comments about the ground water levels
* House at 722 Marquette was "Ground Zero" for flooding
* They are concerned the water is coming down the hill from 933 and into the neighborhood. Backside of Angela is flowing into the alley.
Eric Horvath answer: We are looking at how the installation of the "Coal Line Trail" could possibly divert and help the situation.
* Citizens were frustrated at the lack of helpful information early on - days later was "too late". They also didn't like the "nasty letter" they got from the Building Department saying they had to have their furnaces working within 9 days.
* Citizens couldn't watch the news for details with no electricity and bailing out their homes with 36" of sewage in their basement
* A former Councilman and Chair of the Board of Works says he worries the Eddy Street Commons area is overloading the Triangle area

MICHIANA OBSERVER SUGGESTIONS:
Provide the Citizens with the following in an emergency situation:
* Phone charging Stations
* Bring in Portable WiFi
* Provide generators to help keep sump pumps running
* Port-O-Potty for residents to use since homes are flooded
* Bring in heavy duty sump pumps since small home ones burned out
* Bring in sewer trucks to pump out basements and dump in another area away from the flooded area
* Provide cases of "Mold Control" and organize local volunteers to help clean
* Get out a list of resources on paper as soon as possible since people didn't have power
* Have other City employees chip in to take calls and distribute forms to residents
* Worry about parks later and put residents FIRST
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