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Gladwin County Emergency Manager Bob North sits in front of a 3D-printed topographical map of Gladwin County, produced by students at Mid Michigan College, Tuesday, May 17, 2022 at the county government offices in Gladwin.

A map of Gladwin County is covered in post-it notes designating elevation levels Tuesday, May 17, 2022 at the county government offices in Gladwin.

A 3D-printed topographical map of Gladwin County, which was produced by students at Mid Michigan College, is displayed Tuesday, May 17, 2022 at the county government offices in Gladwin.

A 3D-printed topographical map of Gladwin County, which was produced by students at Mid Michigan College, is displayed Tuesday, May 17, 2022 at the county government offices in Gladwin.

Gladwin County Emergency Manager Bob North stands next to a map of the region Tuesday, May 17, 2022 at the county building in Gladwin.

A 3D-printed topographical map of Gladwin County, which was produced by students at Mid Michigan College, is displayed Tuesday, May 17, 2022 at the county government offices in Gladwin.

Two years later, all is not well at Renee Zimmerman’s house. 

The May 2020 dam failures left standing water under her home along the Tittabawassee River in Albright Shores. When she began making repairs, Zimmerman was told she needed a new well pump. She bought one. Then, that one failed. So she purchased another one. 

Ultimately, contractors found that the drain in the well was packed solid with clay.

The estimated $400 fix is to pull the well line by hand because a truck can’t get into the vicinity.

“It’s aggravating,” said Zimmerman, who is a school bus driver.

Still, with all that happened on that day two years ago, and all Zimmerman has dealt with since then, she feels blessed.

“I didn’t go through a lot,” she said compared to what others have endured.

Zimmerman and many of her friends and neighbors are still dealing with well issues related to the 2020 dam failures.  There is trauma and there is frustration that a task that once seemed straightforward, like replacing a well, still can't be completed two years later.

Mid-Michigan Community Action Agency Executive Director Jill Sutton said an estimated 600 wells failed in the four lakes area after the dam failures – yet by May 2021, only 220 of them had been fixed.

Even with the assistance, Sutton said there are challenges with digging the wells – one new well dig required digging down to a depth of 435 feet.

“I think, with all that happened, everything should have been taken care of by now,” Zimmerman said. “Two years later, it should not have drug out this long."

Zimmerman said people are still suffering – and not just in the lakes area. In Denton Creek, many have had to put in new wells after the flooding, she said, people who are way off of the water. She also shared that a neighbor had just finished his walk-out basement shortly before the flood hit. He had to redo all of the work with only a fraction of the money he initially spent on it.

“He got help from FEMA, but it was not enough to replace everything,” Zimmerman said. “He had to gut a basement that he had just redone.”

Karl Kacel, of Edenville, who lives on Sanford Lake, figures he is about two-thirds of the way back to normal.

He went six months without running water after the dam failures. His well went dry. Kacel said he tried to rebuild the well, but it is “contaminated as all get out.” He watered plants, tomatoes and grass with water from his well and they looked like they were "covered with milk."

Kacel had to resort to getting running water from the City of Midland to his property – at a cost of $20,000. In the meantime, he said he was blessed with neighbors who let him use a garden hose to help clean up a lot at the house. Kacel even had to rent an outhouse.

“That’s not fun. It’s cold in October and November,” he said. “It was a hard time. I learned about things you take for granted like washing hands.

“I’m still cleaning things from two years ago."

Many items couldn’t just be sprayed or power-washed, they had to be scrubbed, Kacel said.  In addition, all the logs from his log home had to be taken off, cleaned and then reinstalled.

“I had a lot of community support,” Kacel said. “There were over 300 volunteers in all and I’m happy for that."

Still, Kacel admits it was “very difficult, with a hard slow rebuild” that is still going on. He received nothing from his insurance and a only a little assistance from FEMA. 

“This has really been a stress to all the neighbors,” Kacel said. “People lost their houses, all their memories, pictures. Everything that was near and dear to them. Things that can never be replaced.”

Rick Marchington lives near Denton Creek, up on higher ground. For three months, he didn’t have an issue with his well. But that changed about six weeks after the flood. The family lost their well in July 2020 and couldn’t get it repaired until November. A neighbor shared their well with Marchington, running a 400-foot garden hose to his house.

Gladwin County Emergency Manager Robert North said, citing the Central Michigan Health Department, that in the 2016-2017 fiscal year there were 257 well permits sought; 243 in 2017-2018; 270 in 2018-2019; 376 in 2019-2020 (all flood-related); and 405 in 2020-2021.

North said it’s not known how many of the 405 were flood-related repairs, but that year was well above average. Many of the wells lost were the ones less than 60 feet down.

“We know we lost a lot (of wells) where the water drew down,” North said.

North said if people have a well issue and need help, they can reach out to a charitable organization for help.

The Long-Term Recovery Group and FEMA closed up their assistance. The only wells FEMA is continuing to help with are the ones that were already scheduled before FEMA closed up its assistance. Those discovering well issues now, or who haven't reported claims, are on their own.