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Efforts in Kokomo to prevent flooding after heavy steady rain

KOKOMO, Ind. (WISH) — The wastewater treatment plant in Kokomo has been working at maximum capacity for several days.

“It was a lot of work this weekend,” Kokomo Mayor Greg Goodnight said.

The output shows just how much water has been going though the plant since the rain began.

“Our wastewater treatment plant on a normal day processes about 11 million gallons and just this weekend we were processing about 72 million gallons,” he said.

At Wildcat Creek, you can find more evidence of the amount of rain that’s fallen on Kokomo.

The trail was closed when water covered the walking path and the banks are still saturated with overflow from the creek.

A new water detention area the city carved out last year is nearly full.

It’s one of the reasons Goodnight said the area hasn’t flooded this month.

“It seemed to have worked. It gives us a little more time and a little bit more capacity,” he said.

Goodnight is happy to report the city hasn’t called for any evacuations or seen any major flood damage this month.

But he’s also worried about a weather forecast full of thunderstorms.

“We’re hoping we get quite a bit of sunshine in the next couple of weeks,” he said.

Goodnight said in the last 12 years, the city has seen three major years of flooding.

In 2013, Wildcat Creek overflowed and damaged 300 homes.

He’s hoping the mitigation efforts that seem to be working this year can hold up until the rainy season ends.