Two Mile Ditch Repair Turns Barren Field Productive, Eases Road Flooding

From the Blackford County Drainage Board meeting on July 20, 2026

A tile replacement and pitch correction on Two Mile Ditch near the intersection of 100 North and 500 East has produced dramatic results — a field that had never produced a crop is now growing.

"I can't believe that one tile has had a whole field growth," Drainage Consultant Paul Shriber told the board. The only bare spots remaining are where construction stripped the topsoil. The repair should also help recurring flooding on 500 East.

Shriber explained that the original two-stage ditch design, built roughly 20 years ago, was improperly constructed — the drain channel within the two-stage section was not built to proper specifications, causing water to back up instead of flowing continuously. "Keep water flowing. It just never piles up," he said.

Shriber also assessed the county's capacity for extreme weather: a 10-inch summer rain, like Spencer County recently experienced, would be manageable because the county's flat terrain and ditch network provide capacity. However, a 100-year flood event would cause approximately 6 feet of water on roads at the 200 corridor due to downstream backup.

Source: YouTube transcript — Blackford County - Drainage Board Meeting - July 20, 2026

Some information may be inaccurate due to video audio quality.