GRAND RAPIDS — Flooding will continue to be a concern along the Grand River this weekend as water levels continue to rise. The hydrograpghs for both Comstock Park and Ionia along the Grand River show those high water levels. Comstock Park location will peak Saturday into Sunday as the water levels will crest in minor flood stage at 13.1 feet.
Upstream in Ionia at the Grand River where the water is at one of our highest points increasing the water flow there by 500% going from 2,000 cubic feet to 12,000 cubic feet flowing down the river at that point. Even with that increase the water there will not crest in flood stage but reaching 19.7 feet over the weekend just about a foot and a half away from flood stage.
What can make all this flooding worse over the weekend is ice jams. Something we will be monitoring, but how do they work? Of course we had those warmer temperatures earlier this week plus rainfall which added extra water and helped break apart the ice. Then any broken floating ice pushes downstream which can become stuck in tight or curved areas along the river bend such as the Grand River. Any of these blockages reduces the flow of the river and can quickly increase the water levels to cause more flooding.
