Long-term solutions for Midland’s severe flooding may be on the way.
Democratic Congressman Dan Kildee, whose 8th District includes the city of Midland, is in the process of securing $500,000 grant for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to perform a study on the Tittabawassee River Watershed that would produce long-term flood mitigation plans.
The study has been authorized by the federal government through the Water Resources Development Act. Now, Kildee is waiting for the Appropriations Committee to approve funding for the study.
President Joe Biden included the fund request for the study in this year’s proposed budget, which is “a significant step” toward securing the needed funds, Kildee said.
In a letter to the Appropriations Committee, Kildee explained that the three-year study would use data from the hydraulic/hydrologic model of the Tittabawassee River Watershed that USACE is currently creating. The model will be used to “identify potential solutions and the feasibility of these solutions to reduce the frequency and severity of flooding,” the letter read.
“We really need to think longer-term,” Kildee said. “What are the conditions that allow this dam breach to have such a devastating impact? We really need both the expertise and the authority of the Army Corps of Engineers to come up with the engineering recommendations.”
Kildee said the study is needed because it will prevent Midland from “falling into the trap” of thinking that the flood in 2020 was a “one-time thing.” He said the dam failures revealed weaknesses in the infrastructure that need to be resolved to prevent devastating floods from happening again.
“Midland can’t afford to just move on,” he said. “The community really does get it. We have to think ahead.”
The study would help more than just the city of Midland. The solutions that come out of the study would benefit residents in and around the entire Tittabawassee River Watershed, Kildee said.
“The community, local, state and federal governments are coming together to make sure that we learn the lessons of the past and try to correct for the future,” Kildee said.