Bay County Building
515 Center Avenue
Bay City, Michigan 48708-5941

Bay County Assists Local Municipalities with Flood Prevention

Contact: Ryan Manz, Bay County Emergency Management Coordinator, (989) 895-4112

BAY COUNTY, Bay County is assistingmunicipalities along the Saginaw and Kawkawlin rivers with mitigating theeffects of possible flooding due to the continued high water levels of theSaginaw Bay and river systems by way of free sandbags.

Recently, residents ofBangor Township and Bangor Township Supervisor, Glenn Rowley, reached out toBay County with concerns about the high water and the possibility of floodingdue to high winds. “Mr. Rowley explained that when we see a strong Northeastwind under normal circumstances, the Bay blows in and properties along theKawkawlin become inundated with flood water,” states Bay County Executive JimBarcia. “We wanted to help in any way we could, so we made about 2,000 sandbagsavailable to Bangor Township so that they could assist their citizens withproperty protection and then reached out, through Emergency Management to theUnited States Army Corps of Engineers for any assistance they could provide. Wewill also be offering free sandbags from Bay County’s supply to the other communitiesalong the two rivers”

The recent additional concern is due to the current highwater marks of the entire Saginaw River Watershed. “The Bay is currently nearrecord levels, which puts the Saginaw and Kawkawlin rivers near flood stagewithout additional rain or wind,” says Bay County Emergency ManagementCoordinator, Ryan Manz. “Most residents along the rivers, especially near theBay, are seeing day-to-day water levels that they normally only see in thespring.” He goes on to state, “When we have normal water levels, a 25-30mphsustained wind causes problems. Going into the fall with these high waterlevels, the possibility of a strong Northeast wind could be catastrophic toproperties along the rivers.This is why we are thankful that the USACE wereable to assist.”

“Bangor Township is a shoreline community and we, along withour neighboring communities, are blessed to have waterways in our backyard.Sadly with the record high water levels, our greatest asset can quickly becomeour biggest peril,”stated Glenn Rowley, Bangor Township Supervisor.” We want tomake sandbags available to our area residents so they can be proactive insecuring their property from potential flood damage. I am also pleased to havesuch fabulous cooperation between Bangor Township, Bay County, the City of BayCity, the US Army Corp of Engineers and Michigan State Police to make thisprogram possible.’

The USACE has offered technical assistance to Bay County.This assistance entails advice on how, where and when to sandbag, updates onthe continued threat of flooding from a waterways standpoint and outreach tothe residents of Bay County.

They have also made available 40,000sandbags to the municipalities along the most threatened areas of the Kawkawlinand Saginaw River. The sandbags have reached their official shelf life so canno longer be used by the USACE, but are still in excellent condition and areperfect for prevention efforts like this. The sandbags will be transferred toBay County and then distributed out to municipalities that are interested inproviding them to their citizens. Citizens along the rivers that would likesandbags should contact their local municipality. https://www.baycounty-mi.gov/AboutBayCounty/CityandTownshipOfficials.aspx

####

Download/Print Press Release