Wixom Lake Is Now A Muddy Field After Dam Failures [Video]
It's hard to believe, but within a matter of hours residents on Wixom Lake went from having lakefront property to living on a muddy field.
Heavy rains led to unprecedented flooding throughout Mid-Michigan yesterday. Accompanied by the failure of not one, but two dams, the destruction is heartbreaking. One, the Edenville Dam, overflowed last night leaving many homeowners along the shoreline waking up to broken decks, broken boats, and a missing lake.
Overnight the lake almost completely drained leaving just an empty view of a muddy mess for residents that were used to a beautiful lakeside view. Residents were left with broken shorelines and boats stuck throughout the the terrain that once provided fun on the water.
The Edenville Dam was built in 1924 where Tittabawassee River and one of its tributaries meet. The damming of the water then formed what was Wixom Lake.The dam failed around 5:45 Tuesday night after all of the heavy rain over the weekend and into the beginning of the week. Once the dam failed the water from Wixom Lake released and rushed through leaving an empty space behind.
Trish Wilson, who has a cottage on Wixom Lake, was shocked to see the devastation and the drained lake. She told reporters,“This was our summer home," Wilson said. "This is where we have been coming since I was born. It’s devastating.That’s all. Just devastating.”
Right now residents will focus on repairing the damages and clean-up along the lake. The fate of the lake is yet to be determined.
Now with the failure of both the Edenville Dam and the Sanford Dam, the National Weather Service to issue a flash-flood warning for areas near the Tittabawassee River, with downstream effects expected from Midland to Saginaw. About 10,000 people were evacuating from Midland, which has a total population of more than 41,000 in anticipation of Midland's peak arriving Wednesday evening.
SEE MORE: Michigan Flood Damage May 2020