Valparaiso Responds to Major Storm, Widespread Power Outages and Regional Infrastructure Impacts

Mayor Jon Costas has issued the following update on the storm response: 

The severe storm that moved through Valparaiso and the surrounding region brought approximately 1.5 inches of rain in roughly one hour, accompanied by extraordinary winds, with gusts reported in some areas near 120 mph. The storm has caused widespread power outages, downed trees, blocked roadways and sidewalks, and significant debris throughout the city and surrounding communities. 

This is a significant regional emergency, and the City of Valparaiso is asking residents to exercise extreme caution, conserve critical resources and avoid unnecessary travel while emergency crews and utility personnel work to restore essential services.

Widespread Power Outage and Extended Restoration Effort

The City has been in direct communication with NIPSCO regarding the widespread electrical outage. NIPSCO has reported extensive damage to portions of the transmission and distribution system, with approximately 274,000 of NIPSCO’s 500,000 electric customers currently impacted by the storm. Based on information provided to the City, the magnitude of this event is unprecedented for NIPSCO and represents the largest customer outage event in the company’s history. 

Given the extent of the damage to the electrical system, residents should be prepared for the possibility that restoration will be an extended, multi-day effort in some areas. Restoration times will vary depending on the extent of damage and the accessibility of individual locations.

Critical City Infrastructure Operating on Backup Power

Certain pieces of municipal infrastructure are currently offline or operating under limited capacity because of the widespread electrical outage. At the same time, the majority of our critical water and wastewater infrastructure continues to be supported by backup power generation. 

These backup systems are allowing the City to maintain essential services; however, they are not intended to replace the regional electrical grid indefinitely. For this reason, the City is asking every resident and business to temporarily conserve water and limit unnecessary sewer usage while the power system is being restored.

Temporary Water Conservation Request

Residents should continue normal essential water use, including drinking and cooking, handwashing, bathing, toilet flushing and basic sanitation needs. However, residents are asked to temporarily refrain from non-essential or high-volume water use, including:

• Watering lawns or landscape irrigation 
• Filling or topping off swimming pools or hot tubs 
• Washing vehicles 
• Washing driveways, sidewalks, or other outdoor surfaces 
• Operating sprinklers or recreational water features 
• Other unnecessary or high-volume outdoor water use

This conservation effort is particularly important because portions of the City’s water and wastewater system are operating on backup generation. Reducing demand will help preserve fuel and generation capacity and allow the City to continue prioritizing essential water and wastewater operations. Please use water wisely until the regional electrical system has been substantially restored.

Traffic Signals Without Power — Avoid Unnecessary Travel

The majority of traffic signals throughout the area are currently without electrical power. This creates extremely hazardous driving conditions, particularly at major intersections where signals may be completely dark. Downed trees, electrical lines, debris, flooding and blocked roadways are creating additional hazards.

Residents should travel only when necessary. 

If you must travel, use extreme caution, treat intersections without functioning signals as uncontrolled intersections and never approach or drive over a downed power line. The safest choice for residents who do not have an immediate need to travel is to stay home and allow emergency responders, utility crews, tree crews and Public Works personnel to move throughout the community safely and efficiently.

City Emergency Response

The City’s emergency response team have met regularly after the storm to assess conditions throughout Valparaiso and coordinate the City’s response with regional partners. City Services crews and the Valparaiso Fire Department are actively working throughout the community to clear major roadways and maintain access for emergency response. The Valparaiso Fire Department also provided mutual aid to the City of Portage, using off-duty personnel. 

The City’s initial priority was to open major thoroughfares and critical access routes, and succeeded in opening roadways by 4:30 pm on Tuesday. Some locations may remain inaccessible where trees are entangled with electrical wires or where other hazards make it unsafe for crews to proceed. Once primary routes and emergency access corridors are addressed, crews will continue working on secondary roadways and additional areas affected by fallen trees and storm debris. 

Residents should understand that electrical hazards must be addressed before City crews can safely remove certain trees or debris. City Services will not remove trees located on private property.

City Facilities and Operations

Because of the widespread power outage and limited backup-generation capacity, some facilities, including Parks facilities, are closed at this time. Police, Fire and essential City Services remain operational and are continuing to respond to critical needs throughout the community. Trash and recycling are delayed by one day: Wednesday’s pick up will happen on Thursday; Thursday’s pick up will happen on Friday. This allows crews to be reallocated to essential clean up and crews are working added hours to address the need.

Help Us Communicate and Respond Efficiently

Residents who need to communicate with the City regarding a non-emergency service issue are encouraged to use Valpo Voice, available the home page of the City of Valparaiso website at Valpo.us Valpo Voice provides the most efficient way to submit and track service requests and allows City staff to process requests systematically as crews work through the widespread impacts of this storm. Access Valpo Voice at Valpo Voice — City of Valparaiso 

For emergencies, residents should continue to call 911.

A Communitywide Effort 

This storm has affected Valparaiso and communities across Northwest Indiana. Lake County and surrounding communities, including Portage and Chesterton, have also experienced significant damage and widespread power outages. We recognize the tremendous disruption this event has caused for residents, families, businesses, and our entire community. 

Our police officers, firefighters, Public Works employees, utility personnel, emergency responders and regional partners are working under extremely challenging conditions to protect the public, maintain essential services and begin the recovery process. We ask residents to do their part by staying off the roads unless travel is necessary, conserving water and sewer resources, staying away from downed power lines and other hazards, and giving emergency and utility crews the room they need to work. We also ask that we all check on our neighbors. 

This will not be an immediate recovery. The damage is extensive, and restoration may take several days in some areas. But our community is resilient and our City team is working around the clock to protect our residents and restore normal operations as quickly and safely as possible. 

Additional updates will be provided as conditions change. Please stay safe. Stay home when possible. Conserve resources. And look out for your neighbors.