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Grand River Flood Waters Receding In Lowell

Posted at 4:33 PM, Apr 22, 2013
and last updated 2013-04-22 16:54:53-04

LOWELL, Mich. — A day after the Grand River set a new record-high in Lowell, the waters are quickly receding – and residents are thankful that things didn’t get out of hand.

Lowell saw the Grand River crest at 19.02 feet Sunday – topping the old record of 19 feet, set in 1948.

The sound of sump pumps filled the air throughout town Monday – as people finally started getting water out of their basements.

Residents told FOX 17 that water had dropped close to a foot in the morning hours alone.

One woman living on Main Street ended up with about four feet of Grand River water in her lower level.

“Saturday afternoon, I came home about 2:30 and it was like this,” she says.

Save for a hot water heater and furnace, her basement was empty. Her flood insurance will cover the little amount of damage done.

“It could have been a lot worse,” she says, “and it wasn’t.”

It’s a similar situation for Mark Stevens on Kent Street.

“Used to be a street,” Stevens laughs, standing next to the ankle-deep water flowing down his road. “It’s a new experience for us. “We bought the property two years ago and this is my first experience with a flood.”

Stevens still has three feet of water in the garage and basement. He and friends were able to get everything out before the waters came in. That helped stave off financial damage, because Stevens doesn’t have flood insurance for the home.

“We knew that our basement wasn’t finished,” he says. “Our main floor is OK, so all we had to do is get the furnace and the hot water heater out of there and essentially wouldn’t be hurt financially.”

Now all Stevens and other residents can do is wait as the Grand River continues to recede. A little mess, but morale is high.

“You just go on,” Stevens says. “There’s no sense getting upset about it. As soon as the water gets out of here, we’ll clean up our basements, get the water out of them.”

“Hopefully life will return to normal a little bit.”