September 30th 2025Many of you may have started receiving certified letters from Christopher Burke Engineering. Enclosed is the letter we had announced that it would be coming out along with a map of the revisions to the flood map.

There has already been confusion over the following. The letter is not indicative of any change in status or feasibility of the project, but merely a compliance formality required by FEMA. This does not mean that the project is moving forward.

As for the map, here are some observations and definitions.

10-15 percent of the land, NOT HOUSES, would still be considered flood zone AH. If a property shows Zone AH, but the zone does not touch the house, the house is not considered to be in a flood zone. But the restrictions for building on the property in the Zone AH areas would still be in place.
This map does not take into consideration the interior drainage project.  When the interior drainage project is designed, some of the AH areas may be removed.  During the 100-year storm the gravity outlets would be blocked with check valves that prevent the river from back flowing up the stormwater drainage pipes into the interior.  Depending on the scope of the interior drainage design some areas may still be mapped as Zone AH floodplain based on the potential rainfall runoff staying within the levee protected area.

We are verifying what steps a property owner can take, if any, to elevate their property in the future to remove it from Zone AH.

If it is difficult to tell if zone AH touches your house in the maps.

Maps and a detailed analysis of the flood hazard revision can be reviewed at the Department of Public Works Office at 200 E Washington St, Suite 2401, Indianapolis, IN 46204.

If you have any questions or concerns about the proposed project or its effect on your property, you may contact Mr. Harrison Rice of the City of Indianapolis at [email protected] or call (317) 327-2560 weekdays from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM.

The new map can be viewed Here.

September 2025 Update

You will be receiving a letter from DPW alerting you that they are pursuing a CLOMR from FEMA. (This process has been underway for close to a year already.) Sample email can be found here.

FEMA requires DPW to send you this official notice via mail by September 21st. It mentions maps that are available downtown. We are working on getting copies of these before the letters go out and will post these online with a notfication.

The letter is not indicative of any change in status or feasibility of the project, but merely a compliance formality required by FEMA

DPW anticipates at least another 6 months of plan revisions before they could be granted a CLOMR

While, at this stage, the project seems to be physically feasible, DPW has not yet found a way to make the project financially feasible, as costs have increased and several avenues for funding have proved fruitless

DPW will not look further into funding options until the CLOMR has been granted and the town of Rocky Ripple has signed an Inter Local Agreement (ILA)

After the CLOMR is granted (meaning construction plans can no longer be changed) a new ILA will be drafted for the Town of Rocky Ripple to review and either negotiate or refuse

A revised cost estimate will be completed once we have CLOMR approval from FEMA.

The plan also includes the interior drainage as you have concerns about.

Todd Wilson, head of DPW and Randy Sanders will be meeting in the near future.

Additional CLOMR information from the City’s response and additional requests from FEMA from June 2025 can be found at this link. There are multiple documents and can only be downloaded to be viewed. The town board will be reviewing these documents. The main document to read is here.

The following information was provided by the City’s relocation specialist during property owner meetings regarding the process for acquisition and relocation, these can be viewed online. Town Hall will not follow this process and will be addressed in the inter-local agreement.

Additional CLOMR information from the City's response and additional requests from FEMA from January/February 2025 can be found at this link. Some of these documents are over 4200 pages and can only be downloaded to be viewed. The town board will be reviewing these documents.