Indian Creek and Tomahawk Creek run northeast through Overland Park and Leawood, and both set records in July 2017. In August, Indian Creek at State Line Road crested at 28.22 feet, the highest on a gauge record that starts in 2004. Cedar and Kill Creeks drain Olathe itself. Phones are answered 24/7 and a crew is dispatched as fast as one is available.
Key takeaways
- Indian Creek at State Line Road crested at 28.22 feet on 21 and 22 August 2017, the highest on a gauge record that begins in 2004.
- Indian Creek and Tomahawk Creek both set records in late July 2017, and the August flood followed about three weeks later.
- The August 2017 rain was 5 to 7 inches in roughly six hours, locally 8 to nearly 10 inches.
- Indian and Tomahawk Creeks run northeast through Overland Park and Leawood, while Cedar Creek and Kill Creek drain Olathe.
- A standard homeowners policy generally excludes flood and sewer backup, so those losses usually need a separate policy or an endorsement.
- The Stormwatch network reports creek and rain levels, but a gauge reading cannot tell you whether a particular basement will take water.
Which creek runs behind which suburb?
Indian and Tomahawk Creeks run northeast through Overland Park and Leawood. Cedar Creek and Kill Creek are the ones that matter most for Olathe.
Creek flooding in Johnson County follows watersheds, not city limits. Indian Creek and Tomahawk Creek both run northeast through Overland Park and Leawood, so their flood history belongs to the Overland Park side of the county. Olathe drains to different water. Cedar Creek runs through downtown Olathe, takes in Lake Olathe, and carries runoff from Olathe, Lenexa and De Soto to the Kansas River north of 83rd Street. Kill Creek drains west Olathe and De Soto.
The rest of the county's creeks fill out the picture. Mill Creek, Turkey Creek and Rock Creek drain Shawnee, Merriam, Mission and Roeland Park. Big Bull Creek and Martin Creek drain Gardner, Edgerton, Spring Hill and Bucyrus toward Hillsdale Lake, and Blue River and Wolf Creek drain Stilwell east into Missouri. If you are unsure which channel your street drains to, the county's stormwater program and your city's public works office can tell you, and mapped floodplain runs along each creek corridor. Start with the Olathe area page if your address is in town.
What happened on Indian and Tomahawk Creeks in 2017?
Two floods in 2017 set the local records. The first, in late July, broke records on both creeks, and the second, in late August, pushed Indian Creek past any crest on its gauge.
On 26 and 27 July 2017 the National Weather Service reported catastrophic flooding along local streams. Indian Creek at State Line Road reached a record 27.96 feet, and Tomahawk Creek at Roe Avenue reached a record 20.81 feet. Nearby businesses were damaged. Those crests were a warning, because the weather that produced them returned three weeks later with more rain behind it.
On 21 and 22 August 2017, Indian Creek at State Line Road passed 28 feet for the first time in that gauge's record, which goes back to 2004, and crested at 28.22 feet. At the Overland Park gauge it reached 18.39 feet. The rain behind it was 5 to 7 inches in about six hours, locally 8 to nearly 10 inches. The metro recorded more than 60 water rescues and one flood fatality. Some gauge pages list slightly different crests, so the event summaries are the figures to use, and the honest summary is about 28 feet.
How does the Stormwatch network work?
Stormwatch is Johnson County's rain and stream gauge network for flood warning, and it has a sensor site on Indian Creek. A gauge tells you how high the water is in the channel, not how wet your basement will get.
Johnson County Public Works runs the Stormwater Management Program, which works with the county's 20 cities on flood-risk reduction and water quality. Stormwatch is one of its tools, a network of rain gauges and stream gauges. Rain gauges measure what is falling, and stream gauges measure what the creek is carrying, so the two readings are most useful when read together.
Use the network to decide when to check on the creek, move valuables off a basement floor, or stay off a low road. Do not use a creek level to predict your own basement. Sewer surcharge can back water into a floor drain during heavy rain even when the creek stays well below the banks, and a dry basement after one warning does not prove you are safe. Treat any gauge as a signal to check your own property, not as a forecast for it.
Why does heavy-rain water reach basements in Olathe?
Clay soils and finished basements mean water that cannot drain away ends up against the wall or on the floor. Creek floodwater and floor-drain backup are Category 3 water.
Much of Johnson County sits on clay. Grundy silt loam is mapped across the county and is described as very deep and somewhat poorly drained, formed in loess, with a subsoil that is 42 to 48 percent clay and conducts water very slowly. In wet years a perched layer of saturated soil can sit within about one to three feet of the surface. Smectitic clays shrink in a dry August and swell in a wet spring, which opens paths for water to follow along the foundation. That is why a basement that stayed dry all summer can take water in March.
Most houses in the post-1980 subdivisions have full poured basements, usually finished, with a sump pit and perimeter drain tile. When the sump pump cannot keep up or loses power, the finished basement is where the water goes. Under the IICRC S500 standard, creek floodwater and sewer backup are Category 3, the most involved water category. Treat anything from a creek or a floor drain as contaminated, keep children and pets away from it, and do not enter standing water near the electrical panel, the furnace or a basement outlet.
Does homeowners insurance cover creek flooding?
A standard homeowners policy generally does not cover flood, and it often excludes sewer backup as well. Flood is a separate policy, and sewer backup and sump pump failure usually need an endorsement. Check your own policy with your agent.
A standard homeowners policy generally responds to sudden and accidental water damage, such as a burst supply line. The Kansas Insurance Department's shopper's guide says most homeowners policies exclude water damage from sewer backup and from flood and rising water. Its storm-and-flood guidance lists sump pump failure and severe backup due to flooding among the costs many policies do not cover. That coverage normally comes through an endorsement, which is a written form attached to a policy that changes its coverage, terms or conditions.
Flood coverage is a separate policy, through FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program or a private insurer. NFIP guidance says a sewer backup caused by general flooding in the area may be covered, while one caused by clogged pipes is not. Coverage is decided by your insurer under your own policy, so read it before the work starts. A crew can document the damage and provide moisture readings and photos for your claim, but coverage is decided by your insurer, not by the company doing the cleanup.
What should I do if creek water is in the house?
Keep out of standing water near electrical equipment, stop the water if you safely can, and call your insurer early. Keep children and pets away from anything the water touched.
Start with safety. Water near the panel, the furnace or a basement outlet is a shock risk, so do not wade through it to reach a switch. If you can safely reach the main water shut-off, close it, though a creek entering through a window well or a floor drain will not be stopped by that valve. Photograph the room, the water line and the damaged items before anything is moved, because your insurer will want to see the original condition.
Then document and call. Call your insurer early and ask your agent what the policy covers. If sewage or a floor-drain backup is involved, call the sewer utility that serves the address as well. In Johnson County that is Johnson County Wastewater, whose 24/7 emergency line is 913-715-8600, and its map tool can confirm whether it serves your address. Phones here are answered 24/7 and a crew is dispatched as fast as one is available. Call (833) 490-5225 when you are ready for a crew to come out.
What does the cleanup involve after a creek flood?
A crew checks for hidden moisture, extracts the water, sets drying equipment and re-checks readings until materials are dry. Repairs after drying are quoted separately, and the price is confirmed on site before any work begins.
The emergency stage is extraction and drying setup. A technician uses moisture meters and thermal imaging to find water inside walls and under floors, then sets air movers and dehumidifiers and checks readings until materials are dry. EPA guidance says mold can grow on wood, drywall, carpet and furniture left wet for more than 24 hours, and that wet areas should be dried within 24 to 48 hours. That timing is the honest urgency here. The flood damage cleanup service covers surface water and creek flooding in more detail.
Materials that cannot be dried, such as saturated drywall, carpet, pad and some subfloor, are removed, and the rebuild comes after drying and is quoted separately. Before work starts, the emergency-stage price is explained and approved. Ask any company which certifications its technicians hold, and check the company in the county's own contractor search, which shows whether it is licensed and allowed to work, before anyone cuts drywall. Our basement flooding guide covers the sump and drain side of this.
Frequently asked questions
Is my house in a floodplain?
This page cannot tell you that, and a mapped floodplain is only part of the risk. Check your address on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center or the Kansas Division of Water Resources statewide DFIRM viewer, which shows current effective panels. Johnson County adopted countywide floodplain mapping from FEMA on 3 August 2009, and county planning publishes floodplain information too. A map shows mapped risk, not how water will move through your own yard or basement.
Does a creek flood count as a sewer backup?
They are different routes under a policy. NFIP guidance says a sewer backup caused by general flooding in the area may be covered, while one caused by clogged pipes is not. Sewer backup from other causes usually needs an endorsement on a homeowners policy. Ask your insurer which applies to your loss before the work starts.
Who do I call about a sewer backup in Johnson County?
Johnson County Wastewater is the sanitary sewer provider across the county, and the sewer lateral from the house to the public system is typically the property owner's responsibility. Its 24/7 emergency line is 913-715-8600, and its map tool shows whether it serves your address. Its Backup Prevention Program is voluntary, and eligibility turns on a confirmed backup caused by capacity in the sanitary sewer during intense rain, so check eligibility with the utility.
How fast will a crew arrive?
Phones are answered 24/7, and a crew is dispatched as fast as one is available. No arrival time is promised, because conditions on the road and the number of calls in progress change the timing. Ask the dispatcher about the current expected timing when you call, and keep the water and the power situation under control while you wait.
Do I need a licensed contractor for the cleanup?
Kansas licenses contractors locally rather than statewide, and in this area that means Johnson County Contractor Licensing. Plumbing, electrical, mechanical and roofing contractors must be licensed with the county. Roofers also need a roofing contractor registration certificate from the Kansas Attorney General. Look up any company in the county's contractor search before work begins.
Sources
- National Weather Service, Kansas City/Pleasant Hill
- National Weather Service, Kansas City/Pleasant Hill
This guide is general information for Johnson County homeowners, not a substitute for an on-site inspection. Prices are estimates. See our disclaimer.