03/06/2004
Daily News/LORI DUFF
Darrel and Martha Stimpson look at the Tittabawassee River where it has flooded near their home in Saginaw. The couple fears that rising water will bring more dioxin-contaminated sediment onto their waterside property.
FREELAND – People who live near the Tittabawassee River are
used to rising waters at this time of year. As springtime sets in, the river makes its way
into backyards and, in some cases, clear up to the back porch.
The flooding has come a bit earlier this year, usually it’s closer to April, and the
water covers the yellow faces of the daffodils Martha Stimpson planted along the
riverbank.
By Friday, the river had crept from its usual location 50 feet from she and her husband
Darrel’s River Road home to 15 feet from the back porch.
"We’ve got Lake Stimpson going on out there," Martha said.
The couple bought the home knowing they could expect the river levels to rise.
They’ve always enjoyed watching the forces of nature that sometimes send tree limbs
cartwheeling through the yard with a powerful push.
This year is different.
"You look at it and think, here comes some more dioxin for me," said Martha,
speaking of the historical manufacturing byproduct that contaminates the Tittabawassee and
its flood plain.
The 25th of this month will mark the first anniversary since she and other riverside
property owners filed a lawsuit against The Dow Chemical Co., asking that it pay the value
of their homes, which they believe are worthless because of the contamination, and for a
medical monitoring fund that would cover future health costs that could result from
exposure to the dioxin.
Many see the latest river-rising as a reminder of the matter.
For John and Joan Sadehvandi, River Road residents, the rising river brings fear.
"We’re scared," John said. The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality
has named frequently flooding properties, like he and his wife’s, Hazardous Waste
Facilities. It has issued warnings that say people should wash hands after touching soil
that might be contaminated. Don’t ingest the soil, don’t inhale it, people have
been warned.
"We can’t do anything out there anymore," John Sadehvandi said.
His grandchildren used to play in the yard, friends and family would picnic and their
children used to fish.
"It was my dream," Sadehvandi said. "We’ve got the ‘up
north’ in our backyard. Now we’re sorry we have it."
The Tittabawassee River will shrink to its normal level, but before that happens,
residents likely will know if Saginaw County Circuit Court Judge Leopold will certify
their suit as a class-action case. If it is certified, it could grow to include more than
2,000 property owners like the Stimpsons and Sadehvandi. A hearing is scheduled for April
6.
Midland flood facts
The Tittabawassee River is running high all along
its path. In Midland, the river crested at 22.64 feet by 5 p.m. Friday. That’s more
than twice its usual level, which is about 11 feet.
The flood level for the river is 24 feet, and Midland County Emergency Service Director
Roger Garner said the water might get that high by Saturday afternoon. Based on the
historical information gathered in 1986 when levels reached 33.94 feet, water doesn’t
start seeping into Midland homes until the river reaches 28 feet, he said.
The Friday afternoon level is "typical for Midland for the first part of March or end
of February," Garner said. While the river stayed low in 2003, it last reached the
22-foot mark almost exactly two years ago – March 11, 2002.
In the past 17 years, the river has swelled to above 20 feet every year except 2003, 1999
and 1995.