Spring rains bring a flood of complaints

While April showers bring May flowers, they’re mostly a thorn for those trying to get to work or school in Orion.
Spring rains brought 1 to 1.5 inches of rain to the Lake Orion area on Monday. And with more precipitation (including, possibly, a wee bit of snow) expected throughout the week, motorists can expect to grapple with waterlogged roads.
The hefty rainfall brings into full view a problem a place like Orion–with all its lakes and rivers–will always have to deal with: flooding.
One of the worst areas in the township is Clarkston Road and M-24, where water from Buckhorn Lake spills out onto the roadway creating mini-lakes.
Another is the intersection of Orion Road and Grampian, where Tuesday morning the entire bus stop at that corner was submerged in brown, murky flood water.
They both can become impassable with enough rain.
While no area is a stranger to some flooding, township officials said they receive the most complaints about these two areas.
And this year, the torrents of spring may bring even worse flooding.
According to Orion Township Building Official Tom Berger, the ‘water table? is higher this year than it was last year because of all the snowfall over the winter.
Berger said his department received ‘numerous? calls on Monday, but that there were no major problems as of yet. He said on big rain days, he drives the township to check out various detention basins, creeks and ponds he’s familiar with to gauge the problem.
But he looks on the bright side.
‘It’s beneficial to all the Great Lakes,? Berger said about the overall rising water. ‘All the lakes will be lifted.?
That doesn’t offer much solace to motorists and homeowners in Orion who crash through pond-sized puddles on their way to work or find water levels creeping up in their basements.
Berger said there’s not much the township can do unless the problem has persisted for 48 hours after a major rainfall. Until then, waiting for the water to subside is about all that can be done because it’s difficult to determine what the problem is.
He’d also like residents to know that in addition to calling the township, they should also call Oakland County, who is responsible for roadside ditches. Sometimes, subdivisions themselves are responsible for their own drainage.
‘We’ll get through the hiccups,? Berger said about spring flooding.
The township is trying to take steps to alleviate some of the problems in the two areas. In one case, though, they are being blocked by the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ).
At Grampian and Orion roads, the township has paid engineering costs to come up with a drainage solution. Gibb said the flooding there is more of a threat because it’s a bus stop.
‘The ditching they put in hasn’t really worked,? Gibb said.
So, the township decided to get involved.
But the DEQ wasn’t happy with the solutions the engineers came up with and denied them a permit. According to Gibb, the DEQ said they were worried that the plans to divert the water to Paint Creek would change the stream’s temperature, thus affecting trout populations.
‘Even though the entire Village of Lake Orion drains into Paint Creek, it seems our little 12-inch pipe is so significant that it might affect the natural trout habitat,? Gibb said.