Island Park closed Feb. 21 due to flooding
Ducks swims through the flooded Island Park Feb. 21, 2018.
Island Park, located at 331 N. Main St., is temporarily closed due to flooding.
The closure was announced in a press release Feb. 21 from the Mount Pleasant Parks & Recreation department. The release stated the park would be closed until further notice and updates will be posted as they come on the City of Mount Pleasant’s website and social media.
Brian Mead, meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Grand Rapids, said the majority of the heavy rainfall Mount Pleasant and Michigan has seen in the last few days is over.
Over the last two days, Mead said about two inches fell in the Mount Pleasant area. When it came to the Island Park flooding, he said it was due to the combination of the rainfall and high temperatures.
“The warm temperatures and the rain helped melt the snow cover that was in place and so that added to the amount of water going into the rivers,” he said. “On top of the two inches of rain, you add another half-inch to inch of water from the snowmelt and the ground being frozen still, or at least partially frozen. The runoff of all that weather was very rapid into the river system, whereas in the summer the soil acts kind of as a sponge and soaks up a lot of the rain.”
For the duration of the flood, Mead said it will most likely last throughout the end of week before it begins to recede. He said the Chippewa River looks as if it is about to crest, which is the highest the river is going to rise before receding begins.
Currently at 8.7 feet, he said the river is expected to crest at 8.8 feet.
Mead said these levels shouldn’t be worrisome, since damage to homes from flooding usually doesn’t begin until about 10 feet. In comparison, during the major floods that struck Mount Pleasant in June, Mead said there was a crest on the Chippewa River of 14.77 feet, and called the one in Island Park "a minor flooding event."
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