Sewer issue floods Broad Ripple streets

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - Heavy rain Tuesday caused flooding in a Broad Ripple area that doesn’t normally see high water, and, officials are still trying to figure out why.

Chopper 8 captured the flooding on the streets of Broad Ripple just before rush hour Tuesday, when high water covered much of Westfield Boulevard and Guilford Avenue.

"I've never seen anything like this in Broad Ripple," said Rickie Clark, with the Department of Public Works.

The high water came as businesses were open and people were out. Some were even caught in the middle of the all the water.

"It just started coming up, and it just kept coming up and coming up, and it was going really fast like water does," said business owner Larry Marling.

Chopper 8 also captured water spurting up into the street, but Citizens Energy said it wasn't a water main break that caused the flooding. Heavy rain compromised the area’s sewer system, said Sarah Holsapple, Citizens Energy spokeswoman.

The Department of Public Works said engineers will have to come out and assess the damage.

"It appears the sewer system was not able to keep up with the rain," Clark said.

The receding water left a patch of ground eroded near the canal, and left business owners with a huge mess to clean up.

Water flooded the floor inside Rain Boutique. Brittney Manning owns the shop and found it a muddy mess.

"I'm just trying to take it all in right now. It's a lot. We have a lot of damage inside the store, and I just need to get in there when they get all the water out and see what we have," Manning said.

Larry Marling's barbershop was also flooded. He said he's not letting damage keep him out of business.

"Do everything that I was told to do with cleaning things up, and go from there; that's the only thing you can do," Marling said.

Later Tuesday evening, DPW said it had discovered two floodgates closed that should have been open. Workers were trying to determine whether those gates in the 6500 block of Westfield Boulevard played a role in the Broad Ripple flooding, DPW said in a news release late Tuesday.