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Homeowners dealing with repairs after heavy rain in central Indiana

GREENWOOD, Ind. (WISH) – Some homeowners across central Indiana are dealing with flooded basements and crawlspaces Thursday evening after the heavy rainfall.

One plumber told 24-Hour News 8 depending on the size of your home, it could cost you hundreds or even thousands of dollars to repair. He’s been busy all day responding to calls from failed sump pumps to drainage problems.

Some people living in Greenwood are dealing with the mess Thursday evening as the rain continues to fall.

“We’ve only been here for about a year, little over a year now, and this is the worst we’ve seen it,” said Chris Laforge, Greenwood resident.

Chris Laforge lives on Bomar Lane in Greenwood.

“It happens, you can’t worry about it,” he said. “You know, unless it gets into your house eventually it will drain back off.”

He’s one of the lucky few not having to deal with costly repairs. His neighbor, however had to call a plumber after finding eight inches of water in his crawl space.

“I mean everybody’s situation is different. Like this particular homeowner, they sit at the bottom of the road so this is where all the water collects. So, his sump pump is going to last less time than the guy on top of the hill,” explained Travis Smith, licensed plumber.

Smith works for Mister Quik Home Services and responded to the call for the failed pump.

“Nobody is happy to have us for one and everything they have is ruined you know, by just a little pump that wasn’t able to keep up or has failed,” he said.

Smith said you want to keep a couple of things in mind when checking on your pump: make sure you know where the pump is discharging, listen to how your pump is running. He said if it’s kicking on and off that’s not a good sign, and invest in a battery backup system.

“Backups are always key. So, when your main pump fails at least you have something to rely on,” he said. “A good battery backup system there’s definitely low end, there’s definitely high end.”

Smith is encouraging people to do a maintenance check on their pump at least once a year or have a professional take a look at the pump. He believes it’s best to replace your pump every three to five years.

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