GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — After heavy rainfall across West Michigan this week, the City of Grand Rapids is discouraging the use of the Grand River through next week.
Rising waters could become dangerous for anglers using boats, or anyone using the river for recreational purposes.
"We're very strongly encouraging the community to take this seriously," Allison Farole, the city's emergency management administrator, says.
The Grand River currently sits at 16 feet and is expected to continue to rise to its crest of 18.8 feet by Saturday morning.
The city is currently considering closing Ah-Nab-Awen, Fish Ladder and Riverside parks due to flooding concerns, but no official closing has been decided.
"Not only is (the river) higher than normal, so accessing it through normal channels are not there. The water is also running very fast. And there is probably debris and other things that become a more of a public health issue," Farole says.
City officials say this isn't just to protect community members.
"Due to high river levels, our water rescue resources really aren't able to get into the river because it's still unsafe for first responders," Farole says.
"It's a very difficult rescue and very dangerous rescue for us and of course for the victims," Capt. Joel Boyer, captain of the water rescue team at the Grand Rapids Fire Department, says.
He says the rising water impacts where and how they do a rescue.
"The biggest problem are things like the island at Wealthy (Street) and the Railroad Bridge right now are getting close to the water level, so they become strainers and people can get trapped on those. They're very dangerous," Capt. Boyer says. "We have to watch bridge heights. Can we get cross bridges? Do we have to bring a boat in from somewhere else other than our launch points? We have two launch points: one up here in downtown and one down by old Butterworth dump. But as it approaches the bridges downtown, we may have to actually carry a boat in by hand, which just delays the operation."
The city says by the end of next week, conditions on the river should improve.
"Then they can go on to enjoy it," Capt. Boyer says.
Fire Chief John Lehman said in a statement this public safety warning is expressed to keep the community and emergency response personnel safe from rising waters.
“While the City is well-positioned to manage rising water levels, I want the public to know that the Grand Rapids Fire Department cannot adequately utilize its in-water rescue resources during high water events. Swift running and high levels of water under Grand River bridges prevent safe clearance for boat usage.”
Lehman added that downtown flooding is not expected due to the improvements made to the flood wall back in 2013, which can withstand river levels up to 23 feet.
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