(5/22/2020) - The Tittabawassee River has been receding rapidly after cresting at a record level above 35 feet on Wednesday.
The river level dropped below 25 feet on Friday morning and the National Weather Service believes it could fall below flood stage of 18 feet by Friday night.
The Tittabawassee River empties into the Saginaw River, which has been running in the moderate flood stage for most of this week. The Saginaw River fell below 22 feet Friday morning, but likely will remain above flood stage of 16 feet through the weekend.
The Riverside Place housing complex will remain closed indefinitely due to flood damage. Officials say the facility had two feet of water on the lower level, which caused extreme damage.
All 150 residents -- many of whom use walkers and wheelchairs -- evacuated Riverside Place on Tuesday evening after the Edenville Dam broke and floodwaters began rising rapidly in Midland.
Many residents have been staying in emergency shelters at Midland High School and elsewhere in the city. A statement from the city says residents will be out of the building for "quite a bit of time."
City officials say a restoration company is working to make the building safe for people to enter. Building managers are emptying refrigerators and dumping perishable food left on counters throughout the building.
Residents on the first through fourth floors will be allowed to retrieve some belongings after the building is safe. However, the elevators are not working, so everyone would have to use the stairs.
With water levels falling, focus has turned to cleanup.
The Midland Sanitary Landfill, which has been closed for several weeks during the coronavirus pandemic, will reopen on Saturday for Midland County residents to dispose of garbage, yard waste and flood debris.
The landfill will be open from 8:30 a.m. to noon Saturday, closed on Memorial and reopen for its regular schedule from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays beginning Tuesday.
City officials warn that wait times may be significant on Saturday, because they expected a high number of residents to begin dumping flood debris.
The landfill is only open to Midland County residents, who must bring identification to prove their residency. Social distancing guidelines must be following in the facility.
Regular trash collection in Midland restarted on Friday and will operate a day behind its normal schedule next week due to Memorial Day.