WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Researchers from Purdue University’s Division of Construction Engineering Management and the Purdue Homeland Security Institute are working with local, state and federal agencies to assess the economic, social and psychological impact of this summer’s extensive flooding throughout the Midwest.

Through the National Science Foundation project, the researchers will canvass three communities to collect data and distribute surveys to determine the extent of flood damage and the toll it is having on communities.

Residents in Indiana, Illinois, Iowa and Missouri are still grappling with an estimated $10 billion in damage from the flooding, which killed 24 people and injured another 150 people in June and July. Initially, Purdue’s six-month study will focus on some of the hardest hit communities – Cedar Rapids, Iowa; St. Louis; and Terre Haute, Ind.

“The main reason for much of the widespread flood damage was infrastructure failures,” said Eric Dietz, director of Discovery Park’s Homeland Security Institute. “The collapse of a bridge, road, home, business, hospital, church or other critical structure can devastate a community, creating social and emotional stresses that can have lasting effects on people’s lives.”

Researchers, led by civil engineering professor Mark Hastak, will conduct personal interviews and distribute surveys to those living in and around the flooded communities. Survey answers will provide demographic information about the residents, how long they have lived in the community, and the infrastructure and businesses that are a part of their regular daily lives.

Researchers will work closely with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Red Cross and other local agencies involved with infrastructure planning and maintenance, Hastak said.

Congress has earmarked $10 billion for Midwest flood relief. Flood damage in Indiana is expected to reach $1 billion. Estimates are far higher in Iowa, where communities such as Cedar Rapids had 1,300 city blocks under water, forcing the evacuation of 24,000 residents.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Just because water looks crystal clear doesn’t mean it is safe to drink. That’s especially true in areas like those in Indiana that are experiencing record flooding, said Jane Frankenberger, a Purdue University Extension water quality specialist.

“If homeowners get their drinking water from a well and they’ve had flooding, they should assume that the water may be contaminated,” Frankenberger said. “They should boil tap water until they can be assured that the water is safe, or use bottled water.”

Wells that were constructed according to state regulations should not be flooded with contaminated water, “but I would not assume they aren’t,” Frankenberger said.

Tap water should be boiled for one minute at a full rolling boil, Frankberger said. “Homeowners with wells also should have their wells disinfected,” she said. “That can be done by any well driller or homeowners can do it themselves.”

Frankenberger also warned against playing in floodwater. “The water could very well be contaminated, which makes it a public health concern,” she said. “You don’t just have to ingest the water to get sick. Contaminants can get into your body through cuts in your skin and other ways.”

Other water safety tips in flooded areas are available in First Steps to Flood Recovery, Purdue Extension publication ACS-101.

The publication also provides information on protecting family, people with disabilities, pets and livestock; re-entering buildings; damaged food; salvaging keepsakes and furniture; replacing or cleaning appliances, carpets, floors, drywall and insulation; contacting insurance companies; and seeking government and community support.

First Steps to Flood Recovery is available at county offices of Purdue Extension, by calling the toll-free Purdue Extension hotline at 1-888-EXT-INFO (398-4636) or online at http://www.ces.purdue.edu/floodpub/index.html .

Additional online Purdue Extension flood resources include:

• Septic System Performance in Flooded and Soggy Soil Conditions – http://www.ces.purdue.edu/eden/disastertopics/floodstorms/files/septicsystems.pdf
• What You Should Do if Your Water Well Has Been Flooded – https://engineering.purdue.edu/SafeWater/drinkinfo/floodedwell.htm
• Extension Disaster Education Network (EDEN) Web site – http://www.ces.purdue.edu/eden/ and click on “floods,” “storms” or “tornadoes.”

“The Web site has been designed to support the printed First Steps to Flood Recovery publication by offering up-to-date Web links with more information,” said Steve Cain, EDEN Homeland Security Project director. “EDEN will keep this site updated when more or new information is available.”

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Just because water looks crystal clear doesn’t mean it is safe to drink. That’s especially true in areas like those in Indiana that are experiencing record flooding, said Jane Frankenberger, a Purdue University Extension water quality specialist.

“If homeowners get their drinking water from a well and they’ve had flooding, they should assume that the water may be contaminated,” Frankenberger said. “They should boil tap water until they can be assured that the water is safe, or use bottled water.”

Wells that were constructed according to state regulations should not be flooded with contaminated water, “but I would not assume they aren’t,” Frankenberger said.

Tap water should be boiled for one minute at a full rolling boil, Frankberger said. “Homeowners with wells also should have their wells disinfected,” she said. “That can be done by any well driller or homeowners can do it themselves.”

Frankenberger also warned against playing in floodwater. “The water could very well be contaminated, which makes it a public health concern,” she said. “You don’t just have to ingest the water to get sick. Contaminants can get into your body through cuts in your skin and other ways.”

Other water safety tips in flooded areas are available in First Steps to Flood Recovery, Purdue Extension publication ACS-101.

The publication also provides information on protecting family, people with disabilities, pets and livestock; re-entering buildings; damaged food; salvaging keepsakes and furniture; replacing or cleaning appliances, carpets, floors, drywall and insulation; contacting insurance companies; and seeking government and community support.

First Steps to Flood Recovery is available at county offices of Purdue Extension, by calling the toll-free Purdue Extension hotline at 1-888-EXT-INFO (398-4636) or online at http://www.ces.purdue.edu/floodpub/index.html .

Additional online Purdue Extension flood resources include:

• Septic System Performance in Flooded and Soggy Soil Conditions – http://www.ces.purdue.edu/eden/disastertopics/floodstorms/files/septicsystems.pdf
• What You Should Do if Your Water Well Has Been Flooded – https://engineering.purdue.edu/SafeWater/drinkinfo/floodedwell.htm
• Extension Disaster Education Network (EDEN) Web site – http://www.ces.purdue.edu/eden/ and click on “floods,” “storms” or “tornadoes.”

“The Web site has been designed to support the printed First Steps to Flood Recovery publication by offering up-to-date Web links with more information,” said Steve Cain, EDEN Homeland Security Project director. “EDEN will keep this site updated when more or new information is available.”

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Hoosiers should keep their umbrellas and flashlights handy because the thunderstorms that have marked spring, especially early June, likely will continue until the end of July.

Infrared satellite images of southern Indiana show widespread flooding of the White and Wabash rivers. The image on the left was taken on May 28, before the record rainfall, and the image on the right was taken on June 10. The images have a resolution of approximately 275 yards (250 meters). Purdue University’s Terrestrial Observatory captured the images from NASA’s MODIS-Aqua satellite.

La Niña’s control of the weather pattern will continue to make Indiana’s normally severe storm season more intense and generate storms more frequently than average, said Dev Niyogi, state climatologist and an assistant professor of agronomy and earth and atmospheric sciences at Purdue University. La Niña is a name given to the interaction of the atmosphere with cooler than normal sea surface temperatures in the tropical Pacific. This impacts global weather patterns.

“Whenever we are in a La Niña pattern, there is increased propensity for severe weather over Indiana during spring and summer with increased likelihood for thunderstorms and rain,” Niyogi said. “We are nearing the end of the La Niña cycle, which started last year, but the sea surface temperatures are still about one-half a degree cooler than normal.”

The cool ocean surface temperature and recent precipitation deluge tell climatologists that La Niña still has some punches to throw, he said.

La Niña could be the major reason for the weather pattern responsible for 9.85 inches of rain in Gosport in Morgan County on June 7. Edinburgh, Ind., has the rainfall record for the week of June 2-8 with 17.94 inches and also for a single day with 9.95 inches on June 8. According to the National Weather Service, precipitation of this magnitude is considered a 1-in-1,000 year event.

Although the current La Niña is coming to an end, Niyogi said that it’s likely the weather will continue to be wet all summer. But it’s difficult to predict amounts of rain or exactly where it will fall, he said.

“Rainfall is one of the most complex factors in nature,” Niyogi said. “The ground temperature, whether the ground is too wet or too dry, the altitude, the air temperature and humidity all interact to determine where precipitation will fall.”

Many of those factors came together over the southern third of the state during the first two weeks of June, he said. The effect was that a weather pattern of thunderstorms with heavy rain formed over that large area of Indiana and caused flooding. So much rain on already saturated ground, left water with nowhere to go except into homes, businesses and fields that quickly took on the appearance of new swimming pools and lakes.

“It’s difficult to say why some areas were hit with widespread heavy precipitation,” he said. “We’re still studying why some places receive heavy precipitation and others don’t. But we do know that people in Indiana should be prepared for more flooding.”

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Every toilet flush and running faucet can place an additional burden on septic systems in homes ravaged by Indiana’s floods, said a Purdue University Extension agricultural engineer.

Older septic tanks or those in poor condition might be vulnerable to flooding, which can cause wastewater to back up into the house and possibly even lead to permanent septic system damage, said Don Jones.

Jones advised homeowners with flooded septic systems to limit their water use until floodwaters recede and soils have had an opportunity to dry.

About 800,000 homes in Indiana have private sewage systems.

“A high water table – the kind you would see in a flood – can become a problem if there are cracks in the septic tank or the seals around the tank aren’t very good,” Jones said. “This is probably a bigger concern for septic systems that are at least 10 years old.”

Septic systems in Indiana use soil absorption fields to treat and disperse the wastewater that leaves the septic tank. In normal conditions, the systems remove nitrogen and pathogens from the wastewater before the pathogens reach groundwater. In flood conditions, however, saturated soils can prevent proper wastewater treatment and dispersion from taking place, resulting in sewage backups and potential groundwater contamination.

“You could even get water running back into a newer, watertight septic tank if there is not much slope in the soil field,” Jones said.

Septic tanks not equipped with effluent filters could face long-term damage to the filter field, Jones said. Many older tanks are not fitted with the filters.

“The filter is used to prevent solids from being washed out of the tank, even when the liquid level in the pump is high,” he said. “This keeps solids and scum in the tank from reaching the filter field, even when the filter cartridge is removed for cleaning.

“If no filter is present when the wastewater level in the tank is above the outlet baffle, some of the floating solids and scum can overflow into the soil absorption field as it dries out. If water from the soil field is able to back up into the tank, is stirred up and then runs out again, even more solids could end up in the soil field. This can affect the system in the near term and even shorten the life of the soil field.”

Homeowners with submerged septic tanks should have the systems inspected once floodwaters abate, Jones said. He also recommended homeowners:

• Avoid removing the septic tank lid while the tank is still under water. “In addition to flooding the system, someone could even fall into the tank,” Jones said. “It’s good to just leave it alone until the water goes away.”
• Minimize water use until soils are no longer soggy. “The soil doesn’t need any more water,” Jones said. “If you need to do laundry, go to a coin-operated laundry. Keep water use in the home to a minimum, even if the water is still flowing out of the house into the septic system.”
• Shut off power to septic system sewage pumps until floodwater goes down.
• Remove all silt and other material from the septic tank, distribution boxes and sewage pump chambers after water recedes. This requires a professional.

Above all, be patient and allow the soil a chance to dry, Jones said.

“With the water table as high as it is in some parts of southern Indiana right now, that’s going to take a few days, or even weeks,” he said.

For additional information and tips on septic systems and flooding, read Purdue Extension publication HENV-10-W, “Septic Systems in Flooded and Wet Soil Conditions,” by Jones and Purdue agronomist Brad Lee. The publication is available online at http://www.ces.purdue.edu/extmedia/HENV/HENV-10-W.pdf or by calling Purdue’s toll-free Extension hotline at 1-888-EXT-INFO (398-4636).