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Small communities upstream from Midland feel flood's impact first

Kathy Kristal

Local officials are reacting today to the dam breaches and flooding the small communities upstream from Midland.  The failure of the Edenville Dam essentially emptied Wixom Lake in the village of Edenville… and residents in the village of Sanford are waiting to see how much damage has been done to their dam… and how much lake will remain.

Jeannette Snyder is a Midland county commissioner and the President of the Sanford Lake Association. She said her concern on this beautiful sunny day is that local residents stay alert. "I know it's sunny and I think that they think all the danger is past, but it really hasn't yet"

Credit Lana Kristal
Wixom lake July 2015

Snyder said she has seen boats, cars, trailers, trees, and sheds floating past on Sanford lake. She is on dry ground and neighbors from the other, affected side of the lake have come over to look at what’s left of their homes and cry.  "Sanford Dam is a beast. It's all new. It's been holding up like a rock. The breakaways that were supposed to break away to relieve pressure on the dam, it all performed well. But under these types of situations, I mean it would just be a miracle if it stays standing. I don't believe it's going to"

Snyder said she hopes the dam… and lake, can be restored. She said her community will pull together, but she said the floods have been “devastating”