BRANCH COUNTY, MI (WTVB) – As the month of June comes to a wet and miserable end with yet even more rain falling, Branch County will wind up getting over double the normal amount of rain for the month.
Normally, about three-and-a-half inches falls during June but the M.S.U. Extension Service weather station at the Bloom Dairy Farm has measured over seven inches for the month. That includes over six inches since June 18.
It has rained 12 out of the last 13 days in Branch County and on 17 days during the month.
The soggy weather comes after a dry period stretching back to the winter months.
Branch County Drain Commissioner Mike Hard told the Branch County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday afternoon that Coldwater Lake was three-and-a-half inches above the normal summer level. He said it has been higher in the past.
Hard reported to Commissioners as gates were being opened up at dam sites in order to lower the lake level.
During the Commissioners meeting, Mike Cornelius of Iyopawa Island asked officials to simplify the process of declaring a “no wake” notice.
State laws were passed in 2020 that allow local governments to establish temporary no-wake watercraft limitations during periods of high water. Sheriff John Pollack said any changes to the law would have to come from the state legislature.
The laws allow the County Sheriff, the Michigan D.N.R. or the County Emergency Management Coordinator to establish temporary reduced watercraft speed limits in response to the request of a local municipality in order to protect life and property during emergency conditions.
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