Frankenmuth

6 I f ever there was a reason for the City of Frankenmuth to invest in the levee, it is our witnessing of the recent catastrophe suffered by communities and properties along the Tittabawassee River because of the failure of the Wixom and Sanford dams and levees. While their river and region are largely different than Frankenmuth's, we cannot help but see the devastation that could happen here with a major rain event along the banks of the Mighty Cass. The Frankenmuth levee was called into question more than ten years ago when the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced an update to Saginaw County's flood maps, pushing Frankenmuth into a "flood zone." The City's levee was downgraded because of increased flash flooding and the inconsistent quality of the existing structure. Construction began on levee modifications last fall, after years of study and approvals by FEMA, the U.S. Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MI-EGLE). Unlike the Sanford-Wixom systems, both the Frankenmuth dam and levee are publicly owned, with oversight by State and Federal governments. The dam structure was modified in 2013, converting it to a man-made rapids, enabling fish passage. While the rock ramp was designed to keep the water depth upstream at pre-project levels, it was also designed to withstand the force of the Cass River as it flows to the Saginaw River and Bay. In the early 1900's, the Cass River flooded the "bottom of the hill" every spring due to extensive lumbering and increasing commercial activity. In 1948, Frankenmuth built the levee as an earthen berm for a cost of $24,396.00. Because Frankenmuth was not yet a City, the cost was shared by the Township, the then "Village," and the Zehnder family. In 1961, the Corps of Engineers refined the earthen berm and built the new levee wall for a cost of $56,804.22. The Frankenmuth levee project increases the height of the system to assure the new barrier exceeds required flood standards. The project adds a cap to the original levee walls along the east/upstream leg (behind Bavarian Inn upstream), adds a taller knee- high curb along the west/downstream leg (along Gunzenhausen to the St. John's Cemetery), and replaces walls and soils along the curve of the river. "Drove my Chevy to the Levee..." Each spring, the Cass River flooded the bottom of the hill impacting the town and its budding tourism business. The USACE funded the construction of the original levee wall in 1961. By Sheila Stamiris

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