Cadillac, beset by severe flooding, also is dealing with a disabled transformer and pumps at a facility overnight Saturday in the city’s west side necessary for moving sewer water to a treatment plant.
The disabled lift station affected residents served by the Lake Mitchell Sewer Authority, the city said in a news release Sunday.
City Manager Marcus Peccia said “a perfect storm” of circumstances contributed to the flooding that kicked off in the last week, including rainfall, snowmelt and frozen ground that can’t absorb water. Cadillac has seen about 11.5 inches of rainfall in April, he said, which has caused the city’s water systems to rise several feet.
“This is an absolute crisis and natural disaster that I don’t think our community has ever experienced before,” Peccia said.
Emmett County reported flooding on the Muskegon River on Sunday.
Flooding in Cadillac comes as officials in northern Michigan deal with flooding and as Cheboygan-area and state officials race to prevent the Cheboygan Lock and Dam Complex from failing. The height of the water in the dam has fluctuated. On Friday and Saturday, it hovered around the 7-inch range below the top of the dam, levels lower than earlier in the week. The river crested Thursday at just under 5 inches below the top of the dam. Officials expect peak river flow in the next two days.
Historic flooding also has hit entire neighborhoods along the Black Lake in northern Michigan, as have those in Indian River, Michigan along the Sturgeon River. Areas in northern Michigan, including near Petosky, Alpena, Traverse City, Manistee are remain under a flood warning until Monday or Tuesday. Flooding in rivers, creeks, lakes, field drains and ditches was reported last week across Alcona, Alpena, Arenac, Charlevoix, Crawford, Emmet, Iosco, Kalkaska, Leelanau, Manistee, Missaukee, Montmorency, Ogemaw, Oscoda, Otsego, Presque Isle, Roscommon and Wexford counties.
Some roadways and small bridges were washed away by floodwaters from Grand Traverse County on Lake Michigan to Presque Isle County on Lake Huron in the northeast Lower Peninsula.
The lift station in Cadillac moves sanitary sewer water through the sewer mains to a wastewater treatment plant to be processed and cleaned. Flooding overwhelmed sandbags and sand berms created overnight Saturday. The city is working with Wexford County Emergency Management, according to a news release posted on Facebook.
To mitigate the damage, water needs to be pumped away, replacement pumps acquired and a portable industrial-size generator brought in overnight connected. The city asked residents west of the lift station facility near Division and Leeson Streets, including the Lake Mitchell Sewer Authority area, to reduce or stop sanitary sewer use as much as possible, which includes flushing toilets and drain usage, until the ability to move sewage to the treatment facility is restored.
Peccia said the flooding of Lake Mitchell has been due to a confluence of water levels rising in several bodies of water in the area: Lake Mitchell feeds into Lake Cadillac, which is located within the city’s boundaries. Both lakes have some swampy areas around them, and Lake Cadillac is the source of water for the Clam River, which runs through Wexford, Missaukee and Clare counties.
“The water that’s flooded the outlying areas ultimately has to go somewhere, and it’s going to most likely go back to its source, which is Lake Mitchell or Lake Cadillac or the Clam River,” he said.
The Cadillac Area YMCA is offering showers, drinking water and space to charge electronic devices for people who have lost power or water, the organization said earlier this week in a Facebook post. Residents also can call 211 for community information and referral services, or go to Airbnb.org to apply for short-term stay vouchers for Airbnb units.
About 35-40 volunteers worked into Sunday afternoon to help with sandbagging around the Lake Mitchell Sewer Authority, said Capt. Greg Brock of the Salvation Army in Cadillac. The Cadillac location at 725 Wright St. is also open as a day shelter with the ability to house people displaced by flooding overnight if needed. The organization serves Wexford, Missaukee, and Kalkaska counties.
“We stand ready to fill the gap wherever we’re needed. That’s what we do as an army,” Brock said.
jcardi@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Cadillac flooding takes out lift station on city’s west side
Reporting by Julia Cardi, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
