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FOX 17 Goes Airborne To View Flooding At Lakeshore

Posted at 7:53 PM, Apr 23, 2013
and last updated 2013-04-23 19:58:49-04

OTTAWA COUNTY, Mich. — More than 1,000 feet above West Michigan, FOX took a bird’s-eye look at the Grand River’s flood waters flowing into Lake Michigan in Grand Haven on Tuesday.

Doug Purdue of Executive Air Transport in Muskegon flew a crew over the lake and the surrounding area to provide the perspective.

The typically clean river waters that flow into the lake are now brown – filled with sludge, grime, and anything the flood waters might have picked up from the land as they flooded over. That includes a good amount of driftwood and some trash.

A spokesperson for the county says that the Grand River has hit its crest there – between 16.6 and 16.7 feet. It’s held at those levels for consecutive days.

The water didn’t get as high as predicted, but it still sits about three feet above flood stage.

A no-body-contact advisory was still in effect Tuesday for the entire stretch of the river, due to potential health hazards in the water.

The Ottawa County Board of Commissioners planned to meet at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday to discuss all things flooding in their county – including the potential end to the local state of emergency that’s been in effect.
A county flood shelter has been established at the Congregational United Church of Christ on 32nd Avenue in Hudsonville. The Red Cross is providing clean-up kits there.