2020 Floods

The opinion released Thursday by the Michigan Court of Claims says state environmental officials did not overreach their authority, and that the dam was ultimately private property.

Nearly six years after flooding devastated the village of Sanford, residents are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel as water comes back to Sanford Lake. Officials estimate the refilling process will be complete by Memorial Day.

Attorneys for both the state of Michigan and roughly 2,000 property owners across Midland, Gladwin and Saginaw counties gave opening statements Monday in the high-stakes trial over responsibility of the dam's 2020 failure.

The village of Sanford and Midland Center for the Arts are still awaiting reimbursements for the cost of rebuilding after the devastating 2020 floods.

Victims of the floods that devastated Midland, Gladwin and Saginaw counties will have their day in court this month as they pursue a lawsuit against the state of Michigan for improperly maintaining the Edenville dam.

Property owners were unsuccessful in their court challenge of the special assessments that will go towards repairing the Secord, Smallwood, Sanford and Edenville dams after they were destroyed in 2020 by mass flooding.

The grant will go to reduce some of the assessment being levied on property owners in the area. It is not yet clear how much the grant will bring bills down.

Starting this week, crews are laying concrete on a portion of the Sanford Dam breached by flood waters that inundated parts of Gladwin and Midland counties in 2020.

A bill proposed by Congresswoman Kristen McDonald Rivet (D-Bay City) and Congressman John Moolenaar (R-Caledonia) are pushing to cut red tape for communities impacted by natural disasters.

In partnership with Central Michigan University’s College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, WCMU's “The Sanford Voices Project” documents the personal histories of those affected by the disaster, and how they recovered.