Flood Response Updates - Feb. 26

Flooding
February 23, 2018

For the latest updates, follow MSD on Twitter at @LouisvilleMSD.

Customers can report to MSD any roadway flooding issues or sewer backups into homes 24/7/365: 502-587-0603 and CustomerRelations@LouisvilleMSD.org.

Flood Response Update - Feb. 26, 1 pm

MSD continues to have all 16 flood pumping stations (FPS) in service. Projections show they will remain in service through March 4. Indications are that the river is at or near its crest at 35.6 feet on the upper gauge and 67.04 feet on the lower gauge. Normal pool on the upper gauge is 12 feet. Low stage on the lower is 9 feet.

No New Roadway Closures Going Up

No new roadway closures are projected to go up. MSD Crews installed floodwall closures at Port Road and 11th Street yesterday. Based on current projections, closures could begin to come down as early as tomorrow (Tuesday). They will be removed in the reverse order that they went into service, so removal will start with 11th Street. The last one to be removed will be 27th Street. River levels determine when the closures are removed.

Order of removal:

1. 11th Street

2. Port Road

3. Bingham Way

4. Second Street

5. 10th Street

6. 27th Street

Additional Pumping Station Damage & Debris Removal Update

The latest MSD flood pumping stations to have experienced damage along with those listed yesterday is Pond Creek FPS. However, all 16 stations remained in operation. About half of the pumping stations will go out of service by Sunday, March 4. The rest will stay in service. There is no estimated date when they will go out of service.

Pond Creek FPS — constructed in 1989 — lost one of its four pumps in the early hours of Monday, February 26. The remaining three pumps are working, protecting and serving the area. However, redundancy was lost at this station. The damaged pump will be repaired after this flooding event.

The large amount of debris and trash piled up on the city side of Beargrass Creek FPS became an unexpected positive for the station. A decision was made to leave the debris until tomorrow because it is functioning as an additional filter for the mechanical components of the station.

Flood Response Update - Feb. 25, 2 pm

MSD crews are currently installing the floodwall closure on Port Road at the river today. River levels rose 2.3 feet in the last 12 hours. MSD continues to have all 16 flood pumping stations (FPS) in service. During a four-hour period last night all pumps at all 16 flood pumping stations were at full capacity pumping a total of 8 million gallons per minute.

Projections show the river will crest early next week at 36.1 feet on the upper gauge and 67.4 feet on the lower gauge. Normal pool on the upper gauge is 12 feet. Low stage on the lower is 9 feet.

Damage to Flood Pumping Stations

Some MSD flood pumping stations (FPS) did experience damage last night, mostly due to their age and the extreme amount of stormwater. However, all 16 stations remained in operation.

• Beargrass Creek FPS has a tremendous amount of debris and trash piled up on the city side of the facility. Crews will be working to clear that throughout the day.

• Paddy’s Run FPS, which was put into service in 1953, had one pump fail. This station still has five working pumps protecting and serving the area, but redundancy was lost at this station. The damaged pump will be repaired after this flooding event.

• Upper Mill Creek FPS, which was put into service in 1979, also lost one of its three pumps due to motor damage. However, this station is still working and servicing the area, but redundancy was lost with the operation of one pump.

Other flood pumping stations sustained damage due to flooding in the lower levels. Those issues do not impede the operation of the pumps.

Rescue

Last night, MSD constructed a temporary gravel road to assist the Lake Dreamland Fire Department with the evacuation of some area residents.

Roadway Closures

MSD Crews installed the floodwall closure at Port Road in Riverport this afternoon, and are now installing the closure at 11th Street. Six floodwall closures will be in place by the end of the day.

Extra Staff

Extra maintenance staff, call center staff, and crews were scheduled to respond to weather predictions and the resulting sanitary backups into homes and roadway flooding. MSD temporarily suspended sanitary backup requests around midnight due to the size of the storm and the sanitary system capacity. MSD cannot determine the cause of a backup when the sanitary system is full.

Since 1997 MSD has built more than 1 billion gallons of stormwater storage since 1997. This additional storage protected hundreds of homes. Additionally, MSD has bought — with federal, state and MSD dollars —approximately 300 homes that repeatedly flood.

Customers can report any roadway flooding issues or sewer backups into homes 24/7/365.

Saturday, February 24, 6 p.m.

MSD Flood Response Update

MSD installed floodwall roadway closures at Second Street this morning, as well as the floodwall closure on Bingham Way. The closures are openings in the floodwall that normally cars and pedestrians can pass through.

Projections show the river will crest early next week at 31.41 feet on the upper gauge and 62.73 feet on the lower gauge. Normal pool on the upper gauge is 12 feet. Low stage on the lower is 9 

Friday, February 23, 5 p.m.

MSD Flood Response Update

MSD has reallocated resources to dedicate all on-dutyteam members toward flood-related response activities. This includes operation of flood pumping stations, installation and maintenance of the floodgate and floodwall system, monitoring for additional roadway or viaduct flooding and response to residential service calls for sewer backups, catch basins and other drainage issues.

As of Friday afternoon, projections show the river will crest early next week at 34.9 feet on the upper gauge and 66.2 feet on the lower gauge. Normal pool on the upper gauge is 12 feet. Low stage on the lower is 9 feet.

MSD will install the floodgates at 2nd Street and Bingham Way on Saturday morning. Currently all 16 of MSD’s flood pumping stations are operating. 

MSD Customer Relations has received a total of 405 service calls from midnight today through 3 p.m. The majority have been for drainage issues, sewer backups and overflowing catch basins.

Friday, February 23, 3 p.m.

MSD Flood Response Update

MSD installed floodwall closures at 10th and 27th streets in Louisville this morning. The closures are openings in the floodwall that normally cars and pedestrians can pass through. It takes about six hours for crews to install and assemble these closures.

Projections show the river will crest early next week at 34.4 feet on the upper gauge and 65.9 feet on the lower gauge. Normal pool on the upper gauge is 12 feet. Low stage on the lower is 9 feet.

Currently, MSD has all of its 16 flood pumping stations in service.

From midnight through 3 p.m. today, MSD has received 405 calls to the Customer Service center, most related to sewer backups and drainage and catch basin issues.

Background on the Flood Protection System

MSD maintains Louisville Metro's Ohio River Flood Protection System—keeping the river at bay and out of the city. The system protects more than 200,000 people, 87,000 homes and $24 billion in property throughout 110 square miles of Louisville Metro.

The flood-protection system includes:

  • 29 miles of floodwall and earthen levee
  • 16 flood pumping stations
  • nearly 150 floodgates
  • 80 floodwall closures

Where creeks and storm drains pass through the floodwall, gates can be closed to keep the river from flowing up the streams, and large pumps at the flood pumping stations are used to lift the water from the creeks into the river. Additional gates and pumping stations keep the river from backing up through storm drains, and pump the stormwater into the river.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built the system after the city's two highest floods of record in 1937 and 1945. MSD has been responsible for the Flood Protection System since 1987.