Little Miami River flooding in Loveland: the first days after a crest

Where the river runs through Loveland

The river passes through the city, and the low ground along its banks is the first to take a rise.

The city of Loveland straddles the Little Miami River and is reached from Interstate 275 at exit 52. Some of its streets sit on the low ground beside the river and its banks, and others sit on the rise above the floodplain. The difference is the most important fact about a river loss in the city, because it decides which houses are reached first.

A homeowner who wants to know whether a house is on low ground can check the lowest floor height, the ground level outside and the path the water would take. Those three facts are worth recording before any flood, because they are hard to measure once the water is in the house.

What the flood of record tells us

The March 1913 crest at Milford is the flood of record for the river, and it is the reference point for planning.

The Little Miami's flood of record is measured at Milford, the town downstream of Loveland on the same river. The March 1913 crest there is the mark from which river planning starts. The Midwest Regional Climate Center describes later floods in 1959 and 1964 that went higher than the 1913 mark at some points on the river.

The local account of the March 1913 flood describes the business district in Loveland under five to ten feet of water, and about a quarter of the residential area affected. It also lists at least four deaths in the town. The account is a local history, and it is used here only for the depth and the extent it describes.

The first hours of a river rise

Get people out of the water, switch off power to wet rooms and record the water line before anything moves.

A river rise is slow compared with a burst pipe, but it can keep rising for many hours. The first hour is about safety. Keep people out of standing water near outlets, cords and the panel. If the panel is wet, leave it alone and say so when you call the line.

The second task is the water line. Photograph it on every wall and door frame, with the time, before anything is moved. Note the time the water was first seen and whether it is still rising. Those notes are the start of the record the crew will use.

• Keep people out of standing water near power
• Photograph the water line on each wall with a time
• Note the time the water was first seen
• Check whether the level is still rising from the street
• Call the line and give the address and the ZIP code

Repeat flooding on the same streets

Some streets in Loveland have taken river water more than once, and the plan should allow for it.

Local television and radio reports describe Kemper Road closed by high water, and a canoe and kayak shop owner quoted in one report said water had come in four times in one year. The years are not shown in the results, so this site does not give a date for the reports.

A house that has taken river water once can take it again. The drying plan should check the subfloor, the framing and the wall cavities for hidden moisture, not only the visible carpet. A homeowner who knows the history of the street can tell the crew, and the crew can plan for it.

Silt, debris and the question of safety

River water carries silt and debris, so it is treated as a contaminated loss with more careful cleaning.

Water from a river is not clean. It carries silt, mud and whatever it has picked up on the way. A room that has stood under river water needs more than drying: the silt has to be removed, the surfaces cleaned, and the porous materials that held the silt removed.

Homeowners should not try to clean silt with household products while the water is still in the house. The crew handles the cleaning in a sequence that keeps dust and debris down, and it records each step.

What the drying looks like after a river crest

Drying after a river crest is slow, because the water has reached the subfloor and the framing.

The first days after a river crest are about extracting water and removing the materials that cannot be saved. The drying that follows is slower, because the water has reached the subfloor and the wall cavities. The crew takes readings on each visit and sets the drying target from them.

A homeowner should expect the drying to take several weeks in a bad case. A short schedule for a river loss is not a sign of good work; it is more often a sign that the hidden moisture was not measured.

• Extraction of standing water and silt
• Removal of carpet, pad and lower drywall
• Readings in the subfloor and the framing on each visit
• Equipment set for the materials named in the scope
• A written drying target before the equipment is removed

Keeping the river record for the claim

Keep the water line photographs, the readings, the scope and the insurer's letters together.

A river loss is often the hardest kind of claim to explain, because the flood can be described in different ways. A dated record with photographs of the water line, the readings and the scope makes the account easy to follow.

Ask your insurer in writing which terms apply to river water. Many standard policies exclude flood water from a river, and flood cover is often a separate policy.

How the river behaves through the city in practice

The river rises over hours and days, and the low ground fills in a sequence the homeowner can watch.

A river does not flood a city all at once. It rises over hours or days, and the low ground fills in a sequence that depends on the height of the banks and the path of the water. A homeowner on low ground may see the water arrive at the end of a street before it reaches the house. That warning is worth using, because it gives time to move contents and to call the line.

The river also falls slowly. Water can stay in the lowest rooms for a day or more after the street has cleared, and the ground stays wet for longer. The drying plan begins once the water has gone from the house, not when it has gone from the street.

• Watch the water arrive along the street before the house
• Move contents and call the line as the water rises
• Expect the house to stay wet after the street has cleared
• Start drying once water has left the house itself
• Record the times the water arrived and left

Checks that help during a rise

A few simple checks during a rise tell the homeowner what is happening and what to do next.

During a rise, check the lowest rooms from the doorway at intervals and note the level on a mark you have made on the wall. That gives a simple record of how fast the water is rising. Check the power in the lower level and the sump pump's operation if the house has one. Do not wade into the water to check anything.

If the water is still rising and has reached a room with power, call the 24/7 line and say so. The dispatcher uses that fact to decide how quickly a crew is sent.

• Mark the level on a wall and note it at intervals
• Check the power in the lower level from the doorway
• Check the sump pump's operation if one is fitted
• Do not wade in to check anything
• Call the line if water reaches a powered room