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Warsaw city crews started filling sandbags this morning as water levels on Pike Lake continued to rise after more than four days of continuous rain.
Public works superintendent Kim Leake said today that Pike Lake is rising approximately one-fourth to one-half inch per hour.
"We're still about 10 inches away from critical," he said, referring to the amount of space available for the lake to rise before serious flooding occurs.
Leake said the Warsaw area received more than 6 inches of rain since Saturday.
Tippecanoe River is over its banks in several places and over the dam on Fox Farm Road, and several streams are over their banks as well, Leake said.
Winona Lake's rise is not a concern, and Center Lake is not a problem because it's not fed by streams and rivers, he said.
Pike Lake is more of a concern in times of heavy rain because the Deed's Creek basin, which extends from Warsaw to South Whitley, drains into Pike Lake.
Another problem is that in winter, most of the rain turns into runoff and is not absorbed by the frozen or hard ground.
Leake said today that filled sandbags would be loaded onto flatbed trucks, which would be parked in neighborhoods where they might be needed.
He also said the street department would have sandbags available, and any Warsaw residents who needed them could stop by the street department to pick some up.
Drivers on county roads should exercise "extreme care" because of flooded areas, said Matt Winger of the county highway department this morning.
Winger said one problem is that there are so many problem areas on county roads that the department doesn't have enough high water signs to mark them all.
The problem is widespread throughout the county, he said, and he urged drivers not to drive through any standing water.
Winger also said he expects the water problem to continue through the weekend when the temperature turns colder.
"When it freezes, then those places will be extremely, extremely slick," he said.
