PRAIRIEVILLE TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — Flooding continues to plague residents who live along Crooked Lake near Delton as officials say they are still struggling to come up with a fix.
The Crooked Lake Task Force met at the Prairieville Township Hall Monday night to provide updates on the flooding, which started in the spring. Some residents have been forced to use pumps and sandbags to save their property. Task force members said some 20 homes are at risk of serious damage.
Residents gathered at the meeting learned that officials have still not come up with a permanent solution and things may, in fact, get worse.
Efforts to pump water out of the lake will have to stop for the winter. Environmental authorities said pumping as the lake freezes could cause more property damage, create a safety hazard for people going out on the ice and harm the ecosystem.
"People are still flooding. Their homes are just — they’re devastated," Delores Love, who lives along Crooked Lake, told 24 Hour News 8 after the meeting ended. "I just feel like what I heard here is that the DEQ (Department of Environmental Quality) and the DNR (Department of Natural Resources) are more concerned about the turtles and the frogs and these are people that are losing their homes."